Ex Multus Familia: Part 2
by Flying-Griffins
Summary: The con. of Ex Multus Familia. Rejoin the inhabitants of Terminal City as they deal with transgenic-hate groups, finding the Cure, Familiars in the government, running a city, and their own day-to-day problems. M/L, Alec/Sidda, Robin/Seth, Krit/Syl.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: First chapter of Part 2 of Ex Multus Familia! Enjoy and leave a review if you like it or don't!

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 1

It was a summer afternoon in Seattle, so it was lukewarm and raining buckets outside while everyone in the city proper went about their regular day's work. In Terminal City, however, it wasn't all business as usual. Robin was sitting in the middle of Max's apartment, a couple hundred small, square swathes of white cloth, silk and lace spread around her in a circle. She reached out and touched one square briefly before dancing her fingertips across the four other patterns that were closest to her.

"Which one's the least expensive?" she asked. She lifted her head and gave Max a pointed look. The dark-haired woman didn't look up from smiling down at Robin's baby, Taylor, who was nestled in her arms.

"Don't worry about the cost, Robin," Max chided, "I already told you that it's covered."

"We've got bigger things to worry about than the material for my wedding dress," Robin replied half-heartedly. She really was enjoying all these wedding arrangements, but it seemed like they were costing too much. Every time she brought up the concept of payment for all this with her, Max always shot her down and said it was being handled. How this handling was happening, Robin had no idea.

Robin stole a glance at Max. The female transgenic leader had been visibly happier since the geneticists and Marie had been brought to Terminal City, and now that the geneticists had promised to cooperate as long as they weren't turned over to the government for processing, the search for the Cure was progressing nicely.

This had put Max into such a good mood that she had set up a lottery to give half the city leave to go to the farm until winter started and then proceeded to hijack arranging Robin's wedding. The job was actually supposed to be Sidda's since she was the maid of honor, but the short blonde had put up such a fuss about not knowing what to do and not wanting to be in charge of the wedding that Robin had been grateful to give most of the responsibility to Max, who wanted the first transgenic wedding to be absolutely perfect. If Sidda had been left in charge, Robin might just be getting married in an apartment somewhere with an X5 presiding instead of at the farmhouse. Yes, it was definitely a good idea that Max was running the show instead of Sidda. Besides, it gave Max something to worry about that wasn't a life or death situation.

Robin picked up one of the pieces of cloth. "What about this one for the base?" Another snatch. "And this one for any extra parts?"

Max leaned over and inspected the pieces of cloth before giving a curt nod. "I like them." She smiled at Robin before walking over to the kitchen counter. There was a book on the smooth surface, full of wedding plans and ideas that Max and Robin had come up with. Max picked up a pencil and made a note on the corner of one of the pages. "We'll need to get someone to make it…"

"Mona offered," Robin said, mentioning the X5 female that lived down the hallway with her mate, Everett. "She had a mission where she had to know how to sew, so she's willing to do it."

"That's nice of her," Max said. The pencil scribbled across the page again. "That takes care of the dress, at least, and we've already finished the guest list and the flowers are arranged." She put down the pencil and looked at Robin. "What about the cake?"

"Sidda's handling that part," Robin said. She swept her hands across the patches of cloth, gathering them together. "She's also taking care of the bachelorette party."

Max's eyebrows rose. "She is? Good." She closed the wedding planning book and turned around toward Robin. "Speaking of parties, who's doing the bachelor's party? Logan said he would if no one else knew how."

"Actually," Robin said as she got to her feet. She flashed Max a smile. "Alec said he would handle that."

"Oh, that's…" Max's voice trailed off, and her grip on Taylor tightened. "That's really frightening. Are they working together?"

"I don't know," Robin said with a shrug. She put the pieces of cloth back into the bag they had been poured out of and put it on the kitchen counter. "They've both told me that that they've been arguing and trying to figure out what each other's doing, but it's Alec and Sidda. They could be lying."

Max frowned. "If they try anything stupid—"

"They won't," Robin said. She smiled and reached over to take Taylor from Max. Taylor gurgled and made a valiant attempt to grab her mother's long blond hair, but Robin pulled the thick strands from her grasp before she could tug them out. "I made both of them swear not to be too outrageous."

"Yeah, sure," Max grumbled under her breath, "That'll work."

Before Max could make another comment, Robin changed the subject. "So, I heard that Agent Kenton was at your office yesterday. Any assignments from the suits yet?"

Max sighed. She leaned back against the counter and brushed her dark brown hair back behind her shoulders as she glared at the opposite wall.

"I'm taking that as a yes," Robin said. She rocked Taylor back and forth. "Where are they going?"

"They haven't told me any specifics yet, but I think it's out in the Middle East," Max said. She picked up a piece of fruit, an aging orange, from the small bowl on the counter and started peeling it, her sharp fingernails digging into the tender skin. "There was some unfinished business, you know, leftover from that whole abandoned War on Terror thing."

"Oh, yeah, the war that the Obama administration stopped," Robin said. "They had bigger things to worry about, with the Pulse and everything."

Max gave a half-smile. "Yeah, when your country's breaking down around you, it's probably better to bring the troops back home. So they did, and now Iraq's flaring back up again." She finished peeling the orange and split the juicy fruit down the middle. She handed Robin half of it. "Some fanatic crazies over there just took a group of American diplomats hostage, Washington nodding-heads, you know, so the President and the rest of the military wants us to prove ourselves by going over and rescuing them." Max made a face as she bit down into a slice of the orange. "It's bad enough that they've got this contract on us, but when they make us risk our lives to go save their asses—"

"It's like Manticore never stopped," Robin said, finishing Max's sentence.

Max nodded. She reached out and brushed her finger down Taylor's soft, rosy cheek. "I just don't want us to always have to answer them."

"We won't," Robin said, putting on an optimistic smile, "So don't worry about it just yet. We'll tackle this mission and keep going, just like we did back then."

Max managed to smile too. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"Of course I am," Robin said confidently. "Now, what do you think I should do about food at the wedding? I guess we should have some kind of dinner or something..."

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"So how is wedding planning coming along?" Seth asked, surveying the disaster that was his and Robin's apartment later that day. There were flower samples and drapes of cloth everywhere, not to mention the magazine photos and articles that had been taped to the walls. Taylor gave a happy gurgle and waved her fists at Seth.

"Yeah, I bet you're happy to see a male face," Seth said, lifting Taylor out of her bassinet. He walked into the kitchen area, wondering where Robin was.

"Oh, hey, I didn't hear you come in!" Robin kissed him quickly before running back to the stove to stir a pot of some meat mixture stuff that smelled surprisingly good.

"Experimenting again?" Seth asked, leaning over to look at the mix.

"I'm making tacos," Robin said proudly.

"I'm the envy of every guy on the street," Seth said, unashamedly using his free hand to pull a piece of meat from the pot and test it. It had a nice spice to it. "No one cooks as well as you."

"Just trying to fatten you up for the wedding."

"Oh, so now I'm a sacrifice?"

"Yes, didn't I tell you?" Robin laughed and pulled a bottle from the microwave. She handed it to Seth. "Mind feeding her?"

"And the sacrifice falls under the woman's spell and willingly obeys," Seth said, taking the bottle from Robin.

"Love you," Robin said, grinning and kissing him again.

Just then, there was a knock at the apartment door. Seth and Robin didn't even bother to open it because Alec and Sidda immediately opened the door. Knocking was just a courtesy warning when it came to them.

"Oh, my poor apartment," Sidda moaned dramatically. "What have you guys done?"

"Don't look at me," Seth said, shaking his head. "I was away all afternoon."

"And it's not your apartment anymore, dork." Robin said, waving the spatula threateningly at Sidda. "You refused to stay once Seth and I were engaged, remember?"

"I most certainly do," Sidda said, coming to lean against the counter. "I didn't feel like dealing with the constant mushiness between you two." Robin rolled her eyes, and Alec chuckled.

"But she'll put up with it for dinner," Alec said. He picked up one of the tomatoes that was sitting on the counter and started tossing it from hand to hand.

"Yes, well, I happily admit that I have no cooking skill when compared to Robin. And I'd rather not go through food poisoning, thank you very much."

"Apparently I owe you my life," Alec said, looking at Robin.

"Yes, you do." Robin said. She handed him a knife and looked pointedly at the tomato he'd been messing with. "Now cut."

"Damn, wedding planning makes her bossy, doesn't it?" Alec asked, looking at Seth. He gave Robin a cheeky grin as he started cutting.

"I will refrain from answering," Seth said.

"Good idea." Robin mock-scowled at him.

"I won't," Sidda said cheerfully, grabbing another knife and cutting into the second tomato. "Wedding planning hasn't made her bossy, Alec. She was always this way." Sidda ducked as Robin threw a block of cheese at her.

"I will withhold food," she said threateningly.

"No, you won't, you made too much." Sidda said.

"We could eat it for lunch tomorrow," Seth suggested. He grinned as Sidda gave him an exasperated look.

"Thanks for the help, Seth. You're no fun anymore now that you live with her." Sidda turned to look at Robin. "But really, you would starve your maid of honor? How terribly cruel of you."

"Yes, I know. Withholding something from my maid of honor who withholds the exact nature of the dreaded bachelorette party from me." Robin started setting the plates on the table.

"Dreaded? More like anticipate, I should think. You know it wouldn't be as fun if it wasn't a surprise." Sidda glanced at Alec. "Not to mention that it would give Alec a leg-up on his bachelor party."

"By all means, go ahead and tell her," Alec said, grinning at Sidda.

"As if I believe for one second that you two haven't already told each other," Robin said. She scooped their tomato slices into a bowl and set it on the table. "It's too easy to find stuff out when you're in the same apartment anyway. I know that's why you won't let me come down."

"Or maybe it's just to provoke you," Sidda said.

"That is a definite possibility," Seth said. He moved Taylor back to her bassinet; her eyelids kept blinking rapidly as she tried to fight off sleep. "That seems to happen quite a lot."

"I know." Robin gave a pained sigh and glared at Sidda. "Which makes guessing what she's doing very frustrating."

"Always happy to give you a challenge," Sidda said, sitting down at the table. Alec and Robin had just carried the last few things needed to the table; the meat mixture, tortillas, grated cheese, some lettuce, and some sort of sauce. Robin must have done a lot of bribing to get a hold of all these colorful ingredients. Sidda surveyed the mixture of foods that Robin placed there; it didn't exactly look like a finished meal. "What are we having again?"

Robin smiled and handed Sidda one of the tortillas. "Tacos. It's a popular food in the southwest."

"I've seen them served before," Sidda said. "But usually not in pieces like this." Usually everything was all nice and together and then wrapped up in aluminum foil, served from some random food joint. If she'd wanted to know how to make the darn tacos, she would have gotten a job at a restaurant.

Robin laughed. "Just try it. I'm pretty sure you'll like it."

Sidda glanced at the food again. At least most of the items on the table were things she normally liked separately. "Ok, so how exactly does this taco thing work?"

"It's not genetic engineering," Robin said. She pointed at the tortilla in Sidda's hand. "Get a tortilla. Fill it with meat. Put anything else you want on it. Done. Taco-making accomplished."

Sidda arched her eyebrows. "What if I don't want the tortilla? What if I refuse a piece of the taco?"

"Mission failed," Alec said, smirking at her, "More training for you."

The two males immediately began digging into the food set in front of them.

Robin sighed. "You can eat whatever you want, Sidda. Make a taco salad for all I care."

"Taco. Salad." Sidda put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her clasped hands, a smirk playing around the corners of her mouth as she tried to maintain a serious expression. "Aren't those two separate meals?"

"Just do what I do when she's being a smart ass," Alec said to Robin. He threw a devilish smirk at Sidda. "Ignore her."

"You don't ignore me," Sidda said, flicking her gaze at him as she grabbed another tortilla to add to her plate, "I make sure of that."

"Oh, I know how to treat her," Robin said, "I just pity you having to live with her now."

"Okay, now that we've established the art of making tacos and exactly how to deal with Sidda, can we enjoy the meal?" Seth asked. He grabbed at the bowl of taco meat and piled it onto a tortilla before covering it with toppings. "Isn't that easy?"

"Nah, show me again, Seth, I think I missed it," Sidda drawled sarcastically as she reached for the meat.

Alec beat her to it, and for a couple seconds they played tug-of-war with the bowl before Sidda let go and let him have it.

"Keep watching, maybe you'll learn eventually," Seth said. He looked at Robin. "Sort of slow for an X5, isn't she?"

"Undeniably," Robin replied, grinning back at him.

Sidda rolled her eyes at them and took the bowl from Alec as he passed it to her. "So, anyways," she said, "What kind of dresses are we supposed to be getting for this wedding of yours? No cupcakes or pink. Nothing pink."

"But you'd all look really good in light pink," Robin said as she spooned tomatoes onto her tortilla, "Except maybe Gem. Pink might clash with her hair, but then again, maybe not if we got the right shade." She smirked as Sidda grumbled and made faces at her tortillas. Out of her four bridesmaids, only Max would probably be willing to wear pink. Syl, Gem and Sidda just didn't wear the color.

"Pink's not the color," Seth said, "I'm actually pushing for yellow."

"You are not," Robin said, "You know I don't like yellow."

"I don't understand why women don't like certain colors," Alec said, his mouth half full of tortilla and meat. He swallowed and licked his lips, savoring the last bits of his first homemade taco. "They're just colors."

"Not to women," Seth said, "They attach colors to feelings, memories, thoughts."

"That's weird."

"I know."

Both Robin and Sidda frowned at the guys, but neither of them was looking up from the food. Sidda reached over to thump Alec on the ear, but he deflected her by grabbing her hand and forcing it back to the table, a smile curling up the edge of his mouth.

"I was actually thinking blue," Robin said, "If that makes you happier."

"Much," Sidda said, brightening instantly as she tickled Alec's palm with her fingertips, "Tons better than pink."

The rest of dinner was mostly taken up with chatting about the wedding and random happenings around Terminal City. There were a lot of renovations going on, especially on Dogwood Street, where the most of the transhumans lived, and up near headquarters. The transhumans had torn down a lot of the buildings on their street, which had been mostly industrial buildings and warehouses, and were turning the place into a large greenhouse to grow plants in. Gatorade's gym was almost complete; she just wanted a swimming pool and a trampoline, things that would probably take months to build or find.

Max had decided to clean out and fix up another apartment building for the new group of transgenics that had swarmed into the city when the government deal had been sealed; people wanted protection, even when it came with a heavy price. Besides, a lot of them had been bored and tired of trying to live normal lives. The government missions were actually considered to be good things by some transgenics, and quite a few were hoping to be sent out with the first team.

"Mole will probably be going, if the mission is in the Middle East," Seth said. They had moved on to desert, a death-by-chocolate creation of Robin's that had them still eating even though they were full.

"That'll make him happy," Alec said, "I'm pretty sure the guy is going nuts around here." He was sitting on the couch, holding a grumpy, still tired but determined to be awake Taylor so Robin and Seth could finish eat. Sidda was sitting beside him, her legs tucked up under her while she flipped through the wedding planning book Max and Robin were sharing.

"Who else is going?" Robin asked, looking at Seth. Everyone had been saying since the deal with the government had been agreed on that one of the X5s would probably lead the first team, and Seth was a likely choice since he had been a commanding officer back at Manticore.

Seth blushed and took a wide mouthful of desert and then pointed to his mouth as an excuse not to answer Robin. Robin stared at Seth a moment, then pointedly lay her fork down and fixed Seth with a determined stare. She wasn't going to let the issue rest.

Alec, trying to save his friend, quickly said, "Well, I heard Krit is going. His dark hair makes it easy for him to travel in the Middle East."

"I'm sure it will," Robin said, not looking away from Seth. Alec and Sidda exchanged glances as Seth finally swallowed his food.

"Well, they needed someone to command and they said that whoever went would be gone less than a week, so everyone will be back with plenty of time to spare before the wedding…"

"I'm glad everyone else will be back," Robin said, head tilted slightly as she studied Seth. She had already figured everything out though. "I want to know why you have to go. Right now. Can't someone else lead? You don't even look Middle Eastern."

"I dunno, if you dye his hair and give him a full body tan…" Sidda gave Robin a teasing smile, trying to lighten her friend's mood up. "I bet you would enjoy giving him a full-body tan, wouldn't you?"

"I would if it didn't mean he was going to the Middle East," Robin said, stabbing her dessert angrily without eating any of it. She didn't want it anymore.

"If I go now, this guarantees I won't be called up again before the wedding," Seth said, trying to placate her. "Plus, I didn't really have much choice in the matter."

Robin's eyes narrowed. "Max is making you? I can't believe that she would do that, after eve—"

"Whoa, whoa," Seth laughed. "Don't blame her, love. She's got nothing to do with it. The government looked at the list we provided them and chose who was going. We didn't really have any say in the matter since everyone they chose was fit, healthy, and currently not on any missions."

"Damn government," Robin said, abruptly standing up from the tale to carry her plate to the kitchen. It was easier to be mad at them then at Seth. She slammed her dishes into the sink, fighting with the emotions she knew she couldn't afford to have right now. They'd made the agreement with the government, and for now they had to stand by it. Ultimately, it would mean her friends and family were more protected than they had been before. That was what really mattered. And she knew Seth would be able to take care of himself; he always did. Everything would be fine, he would come home, and they would have the wedding.

She still didn't have to like it though.

"Hey Robin, we're gonna head on home." Sidda popped her head into the kitchen and glanced back at the table were the guys were, then looked at Robin again. Robin knew what that look meant.

"I know, I know, I'll talk to him. Robin grumbled a bit, "Though if he'd mentioned it sooner…"

Sidda laughed and came into the kitchen to hug Robin.

"I'm pretty sure they only told the people going today," she said. "So don't get too grumpy with Seth."

Robin smiled. "I won't. You know I can never stay mad at him for long."

"As much as you try," Sidda teased. She skipped out of the kitchen before Robin could hit her. Robin shook her head then went back to cleaning up, listening as Sidda and Alec left. Then Seth came into the kitchen.

"I can try to talk to Max and see if I can get pulled off this one," Seth said, sitting on the edge of the counter. He seared Robin's face anxiously. "I can't promise anything, but…"

Robin looked up and smiled at him. "No, don't do that. They asked you to go 'cause they thought you'd be useful, so you should go. I don't want to feel guilty for the rest of my life if something happens to that team because you weren't there."

"Me neither." Seth looked immensely relieved. He wrapped Robin in a hug, pulling her closer to him so that he could rest his chin on her head. "I promise I'll be careful, ok? You'll still have a sacrificial groom for your wedding."

Robin laughed and looked at him playfully. "Just as long as I get to give you that full body spray tan…"

"I was thinking that was a good idea of Sidda's," he said, leaning in for a kiss.

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Sidda was lounged on top of Alec, flipping through magazines and occasionally bumping her elbow into his face as she did so. She was waiting to see when his breaking point was. Alec knew that, and so he was very purposefully not saying anything about it, instead just trying to shift out of the way. But Sidda kept shifting too.

"I was thinking that we could have a cook-out sort of party or something afterwards," Sidda said casually, looking back at Alec. Her elbow was now resting on his nose. "Everyone is going to be pretty hungry, don't you think?"

Alec's eyes glared at her above her elbow. He grabbed Sidda's sides and dug his fingers in, tickling her. Sidda laughed as Alec found her weak spot, and she twitched, losing hold of the magazine she'd been reading.

"What was that for?' she giggled, holding on to him as she tried to keep from toppling off the couch.

"I think you know very well." Alec now had her pinned, and he smirked down at her. "Hmmm…what should I do now that I have you in such a compromising position?"

Sidda attempted to maintain some semblance of dignity. "I think that you should let me up so that we can discuss plans for the bachelor and bachelorette parties."

"Mmm, no, I don't think so," he said.

"It's very important to Robin!" Sidda protested.

"Of course it is." Alec gave her a mischievous grin, quickly shifting to pin her legs better before she could wrap them around his neck and choke him. "I'm thinking we should try out possible party games…."

"Games that Robin would never play?" Sidda said, lifting an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't want her to never experience them before getting married, would you?" Alec said.

Sidda rolled her eyes. "You're enjoying this whole party planning experience way too much."

Alec's smile was wicked. "I know."

A/N: First chapter's done, hope you enjoyed it!! Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank to nattylovesu, Dark angel fan!, X5416, Kay, Tina, Grace, and Marcus Sylenus for reviewing! I appreciate and pretty much bounce with happiness each time I get a review; they always make me write better and faster. :-)

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 2

"Seth, Krit, Mole, Anica and Jane," Logan said, reading off the list of Manticore soldiers that the government had requested for the first mission. He put the clipboard down on the desk and glanced over at Max. "That's all they want?"

Max nodded. "Yep. One X5 team leader, two DACs and two X-series that actually look like they belong in Iraq. It's actually a team that I would've chosen myself, if I had to."

It was early morning in T.C. and nothing disastrous had happened yet, so it was a good day in Max's books. She sat down on the edge of her desk and sipped at the coffee in her bright pink mug. One of the X8s, Rena, had found it and given it to her as a birthday present, even though Max didn't really have a birthday.

"Seth has to go," Logan said slowly. "Isn't Robin—"

"Completely and utterly pissed?" Max interrupted. She snorted into her mug. "That's an understatement."

Logan smirked. "Maybe if you had let me finish, I would've used something stronger, like ready to destroy the government."

"As long as she gets to use violent explosives." Max put her mug down on the table and turned toward Logan. "It's just so aggravating, you know. I mean, the government owns us, we get away from the government and then they go back to owning us again. It's enough to make a girl want to scream."

Logan sighed and walked around the desk before coming to a stop beside Max. "I know, but the alternative isn't that great either."

"No one wants to be looking down the barrel of the White House shotgun," Max said, rolling her eyes.

Logan snickered. "Not everyone is as willing as you are to go blow up government facilities, Max. Excluding Robin in her current state."

Max pretended to ignore him as she leaned over and picked up the clipboard. She fingered through the profiles of the team members that had been chosen before stopping on Anica's. She let her hand rest on the girl's picture. "Do you think I should let Anica go? She's only an X6."

"If you don't, she'll raise hell," Logan said, "Dalton's already been on a mission, and the rest of the X6s have been clawing the walls since then." He blinked and then flicked his eyes at Max. "No pun intended."

"Yeah, right," Max said, but there was a half-smile on her face. She looked down at Anica's picture again. The X6 seemed to be made for this mission; she had the Middle Eastern complexion, beautiful, sweet dark eyes, and an extensive knowledge of Middle Eastern culture and the Arabic language. She was a smart, rational teenager who did regular guard duty and was in charge of the upkeep on one of the floors of the X6s' main apartment building, affectionately named by them The Boondocks since it was on the outskirts of Terminal City.

"She'll be fine, she's a smart girl," Logan said. He gently pulled the clipboard away from Max and set it down on the table. "Just tell the others to keep an eye on her if you're worried about her."

"I will," Max said. She flashed him a smile. "By the way, want to see my new tats?"

"More?" Logan said incredulously, "Are you serious?"

"No, I'm kidding," Max said. She rolled her eyes as she reached down and started rolling up the leg of her dark jeans. Her fingers brushed across the black Minoan symbols that had appeared on her lower leg last night before she brought her leg up and braced her foot against the desk. "So, what do you make of it, Sherlock?"

"I don't know, Watson, I haven't looked at it yet," Logan said, making a face at Max before he leaned over to look at the new markings. Max pulled away instinctively as he got in the space that she considered too close, and Logan leaned back without saying anything. With any luck, this no-man's land between them would be gone soon enough.

With his hands encased in multiple layers of gloves, he ran his fingers down her leg. The tattoos were entirely new, just like the last batch that had appeared the week before. He was still deciphering those; it turned out that Minoan was a hard language to pick up, especially when he had about a hundred other things to worry about. He walked over and grabbed the digital camera from its drawer and quickly took a few shots of Max's leg.

"I just love being your model," Max said sarcastically as he leaned in for a closer shot.

Logan winked at her over the top of the camera. "You're just so photogenic, Max."

"Lucky me," she replied, not sounding very enthusiastic.

Logan had just finished taking his pictures when they both looked up at the sound of someone running down the hallway. Emma, a sweet X6 with a mop of curly brown hair, practically slid around the corner and into the office.

"Logan, Max!"

"What is it? Max asked. She had already straightened up and rolled her pant leg down, waiting only to hear the information Emma had before darting off to wherever the source of trouble was. She and Logan exchanged concerned looks; they'd just been discussing the other day how disturbingly quiet things had gotten ever since Terminal City had signed the contract with the government.

"Human attack at the South Gate! All but one of the government officials are down. They've got some serious weaponry."

"I'll call up the emergency list," Logan said, immediately sitting down to the computer. Max nodded and quickly exited the room.

"Emma, don't tell anyone else about this, ok? Logan will make sure the people that need to know are notified. We don't want the situation to get out of control."

"Got it," Emma said. Hopefully that would keep the X6s, who were all too ready for action at the moment, from finding out about the riot until it was too late. Max was pretty sure that Emma had been the only X6 scheduled for patrol at the South Gate at this time.

Max hurried outside and couldn't suppress the involuntary smile that leapt to her face at the sight of her familiar beloved motorcycle. It had faithfully seen her through a lot, and this would be yet another battle. She mentally went through her head of the list of people Logan would likely call up. Anyone could be useful in this kind of situation, but X5s and Psy-ops on the emergency list would be preferable.

Transhumans would only upset the crowd further; they needed unobtrusive people. Psy-ops with emotional capabilities always worked well with crowd control too; they had one or two empaths that they could call to duty.

Max grimaced as she swung into view of the South Gate. She parked her motorcycle by a building and quickly assessed the situation in front of her. The patrol had pulled in the surviving government official to the Terminal City side, and now the team, minus Emma, was guarding the gate. The riot hadn't gotten over their fear enough yet to attack the gate, but it didn't look like it would be long before they got up their courage. Their numbers were quickly growing, and their expressions becoming angrier. Plus, Max could see alcohol being quickly passed around the crowd. That always gave Ordinaries more courage than they really had.

"Max." An X5 named Twizzler looked relieved to see her. "The situation's been like this for about half an hour according to the government guard, but it's rapidly…"

"Becoming more unstable," Max finished for him. She gave the remaining government guardsman an irritated glare. The idiots had of course assumed that they could handle this on their own. If the patrol had known about the unrest sooner they could have gotten to the other site of the gate, blended in, calmed the crowd…

"Well, I'd say it's already unstable," Twizzler said, shaking his head as they walked over to the guard. "The guard says that one of the others fired at a man who was physically attacking them; that was what incited the group enough to actually go after the guards."

Max stopped in front of the guard who had the grace to look slightly sheepish.

"Easily spooked?" Max demanded.

"We were told to use our firearms if the crowd got out of control. Physically attacking us is a perfectly legitimate reason for defending ourselves," the guard said, squaring his shoulders.

"Yeah, right, because using guns on unarmed civilians is totally acceptable in your military books," Max said, rolling her eyes. Rather than being taught about the laws governing them, it seemed more like these government guys were taught how to use the laws to cover any action they took. It was kind of annoying at times.

"We estimated what action would be necessary…"

"And made the situation worse." Max shook her head and turned away from him, pointedly ignoring him.

"What happened to the communication lines?" Max asked. "Why did Emma have to come deliver the message?"

Twizzler grimaced. "We lost our set while rescuing the guard. At that point it was easiest to send Emma; it takes her less than a minute to run to Headquarters from here if she's blurring."

Max nodded, making a mental note to see that backup cell phones were added to patrol supplies. Maybe stable communication sets along the patrol routes. Just then a woman turned the corner and hurried toward Max, her blonde hair tangled and messy from her sprint through the streets of Terminal City.

"Logan said you needed an Empath?" she asked breathlessly. Logan, wonderful Logan. He always knew exactly what to do and who to call first.

"See if you can calm this crowd," she said, nodding at the gate. "Twizzler, I'm leaving you in charge while I take the rest of your patrol unit across. Update anyone else who comes on the situation." She glanced at the stiff-looking guard. "And see that he doesn't cause any more trouble."

Twizzler grinned at her. "Got it." Max sighed as she went to collect the others. Hopefully the empathy would prove to be enough and Max and her team wouldn't be forced to take any drastic action.

As she led the other patrol members through the closest sewer entrance, Max listened to their murmurings in the dark. They, too, hated these outbursts against the transgenics. Ordinaries' hatred just didn't make sense, especially when the citizens of Terminal City were careful to keep out of their way. Perhaps isolation just wasn't the answer. If they were ever going to get out from the government, they would have to figure out a way to get humans to accept them at some point or another.

Max glanced up as they neared the manhole that was around the corner from the gathering mob. The noise was muted, but she could still hear the shouting and occasional sound of something breaking as the Ordinaries lost control of themselves and had to lash out.

The situation outside of the gates was hitting a boiling point when Max and the patrol crept out of the sewer tunnel. When the whole team was out of the tunnel, Max motioned for them to follow her. With a near-silent step, the transgenics made their way to the corner that led to the place where the Ordinaries had mobbed together. Behind her, she heard the transgenics clicking the safeties off their guns. Max whipped around.

"Safeties on," she snapped, "No casualties."

"If we don't use firepower, they'll just try and kill us," piped up one of the patrol, an X3 named Kevlar. He had a grayish tint to his tough skin, but that was his only visible oddity. He waved his gun in the air. "If an Ordinary tries to take out me and mine, I'm taking them out first."

"No guns, soldier," Max said, "We're better than that. We can handle this without shooting anyone."

There was a lot of grumbling as the soldiers put their safeties back into place. Most of them kept their guns out, however, and Max knew that if it came down to a firefight, the transgenics weren't going to follow her orders. In a battle of Us against Them, Them was going down.

Suddenly the ground shook violently, and sound boomed around them, nearly busting their eardrums. Max grabbed the wall in an effort to stay standing as pebbles bounced beside her feet. An explosion. Someone had thrown a bomb.

Max immediately signaled her small team to move out, positioning herself at the point. They hurried into the street and were nearly mowed down by a horde of screaming, terrified Ordinaries running away from the explosion sight. For a moment, Max's heart froze at the thought that someone in Terminal City had thrown the bomb. But no, at the hole in the chain link wall, there was a battle going on, a struggle between the transgenics who had responded to Logan's call and the stubborn Ordinaries who had launched the bomb.

Max and the patrol shouldered past the Ordinaries who were too afraid to retaliate against the transgenics jostling past them. Shots were fired, and transgenics inside the gates ducked down behind the strategically placed metal guards and concrete barriers. The Ordinaries, all dressed in bulletproof vests, black masks and dark trench coats, pressed in through the hole during the moment where the transgenics were taking cover. They made a run for the barriers, guns pulled and firing in automatic response.

Three shots rang out in rapid succession, and three Ordinaries fell down, shouting out and clutching at wounds in nonlethal places. Max glanced up and saw Robin's blond head peeking over a rooftop, a sniper rifle backed against her shoulder. The girl who had been trained to be a bodyguard doubled as a sniper and almost always took disabling instead of assassin shots; it was a useful skill in violent crowd control. The Ordinaries who were left standing skittered to a stop, and one of them took a shot at the rooftop where Robin was. Her reply was a bullet through that person's gun hand.

While the patrol closed in from behind, the Ordinaries were trapped from in front by the wall of transgenics that had guns trained on them. Safety in number was a transgenic code. The combatant Ordinaries circled around each other and closed in together, becoming a tiny, protective clump.

Right on time, Alec appeared from behind one of the concrete barriers, strolling out as if he had just been passing through. He twirled one of his hand guns from his index finger and then brought it back to rest in his hand. Nonchalantly, he approached the nervous cluster of leftover Ordinaries.

"Hey, guys, having a good day?" Alec gave them that winning smile, but none of their guns lowered. "I bet not, seeing how you were so pissed you had to blow a hole in our wall. That puts us in a bad mood, so we're not having a good day here."

Max looked up at Robin again, making sure she was covering the cocky negotiator. Robin nodded and aimed her rifle at the Ordinaries.

Alec sighed heavily and waved his gun at the wounded Ordinaries on the ground. "They're not having a good day either. In fact, they're having an oh-shit-my-life-sucks day." He looked up at the other Ordinaries and smiled again. "And if you don't want to be like them, if you want to continue having a sucky day instead of an oh-shit day, I suggest you drop your guns. Now."

Instead of dropping their guns, one of the Ordinaries leveled a gun and took a shot at Alec. "Die, tranny!" the person shrieked in a distinctively female voice.

Even as the bullet grazed his forearm, Alec blurred up to the human and snatched the gun away from her, throwing her to the ground at the same time. Alec ejected the cartridge from the gun and then threw the two pieces away. At the same time, Robin took a shot. Blood spurted from a bullet wound on the woman's thigh as she lay on the ground, moaning and writhing.

Alec stepped over her and the other Ordinaries dropped their weapons and threw up their hands as the rest of the transgenics appeared from behind the buildings and barricades. "Good choice."

Sighing with relief, Max hurried forward, the patrol at her heels as she took control of the situation. Someone was going to answer for this, someone in a suit, and he wasn't going to like it.

----------------------------

Headquarters was crowded tonight to the point where transgenics were spilling out into the hallways and corridors. In the center of the mess on the ground floor was the government's official liaison assigned to the new division of Transgenic Affairs: Agent Kenton. He was an Asian American man of average height, dressed in black dress pants and a white shirt that had once been crisp. His jacket had been discarded earlier in the evening and had quickly been lifted by one of the enterprising X8s.

"I thought you guys were supposed to be protecting us!"

"We can protect ourselves better than you can!"

"We're dying, and you're not doing anything about it!"

On the metal catwalk above the ground floor, Alec let out a low whistle. He and Sidda had come in as soon as Gray down at the infirmary had finished patching him up after the situation had been contained. His right forearm had a nice white bandage on it to cover the stitched-up skin.

"This is getting as ugly as Mole," he muttered, his words brushing across Sidda's dark blond hair. He was standing behind her, her back pressed against his chest and his arms braced on the metal railing on either side of her. This way, he kept track of her and made sure she wasn't battered in the enraged crowd of transgenics. Being small had its disadvantages.

Sidda rested her hands over his. She turned her head to the side to let him see her smirk. "Now, let's not exaggerate."

From an X5 on the ground: "Go to Hell, you government bastard!"

"Okay, now that wasn't very nice," Sidda said, leaning against Alec's uninjured arm.

"I thought it was sweet. A compliment on his outstanding handling of the situation."

"Alec…"

The accusations kept coming from everywhere, and all of them were directed at Agent Kenton. He stood solidly under the assault, his shoulders squared, his head unbowed. Max stood nearby, her arms crossed, her lips pressed in a tight line as she glared at the government agent.

When things calmed down to a murmur of discontent, Agent Kenton looked around at the transgenics. "This is an unfortunate incident that should never have happened."

"Damned right," Mole exclaimed. He stepped up to Agent Kenton, forcing the government to tilt his head back if he wanted to look Mole in the face. "You agency asses are all the same. All talk. One more of us dies, and I'm coming after you."

"Mole," Max admonished. She looked around the room before locking her eyes with Agent Kenton. "Of course, he's not entirely wrong. What're your people doing, Kenton?"

Kenton's lips compressed as if he was fighting off an urge to be as angry as the transgenics that faced him. But he was a smart man, and knew better than to antagonize anyone any further.

"First, let me assure you that under our watch there has yet to be a transgenic death. Two of our men were taken out protecting you, but all of your men made it safely back inside."

"No thanks to you," Alec muttered from above.

Sidda elbowed him. "He's just doing his job," she admonished Alec.

Alec only frowned as Agent Kenton continued to speak. He hadn't really liked the idea of signing themselves over to the government from the beginning, and Seth's assignment and now this just seemed to prove how bad an idea it had been.

Agent Kenton looked around, trying to gauge what his audience needed to hear. "We're human, yes," he said, "We're at a disadvantage there. But we're official. We give you credibility to the people. There will be outbursts; controversial subjects always cause them. But there will be a lot less attacks, and the news media won't be able to run away with it like before. The attack that came today had plenty of time to build-up and gave us plenty of time to prepare. My troops were remiss in calling for back-ups, but they won't be next time. And the media won't turn this into a savage attempted massacre of civilians. Instead, it will be the government and the transgenics working to defend themselves from a drunken mob looking for an available scapegoat target."

"You people are certainly good at making things look the way you want them to the public, I'll give you credit for that," Max said dryly. Her arms were still crossed, and she smirked as a few of the transgenics laughed at this poke at the government.

"You knew what we were good for when you brought us on board," Agent Kenton said softly. "And though we aren't always successful as gate guards, which you obviously didn't trust us to be anyway, do remember the larger protection that you wanted. That was the reason you sat down with us at the agreement table in the first place."

The room was silent now as they all contemplated his statement. None of them were stupid, and they knew exactly what Agent Kenton was talking about. At the moment, transgenics hadn't developed a nuclear capability to keep the US government in check. Yet.

"So what, we just sit back and let them attack us so that you can turn it into a media opportunity?" someone called out. Max was pretty sure it had been Jaz. Agent Kenton had pinpointed the direction of her voice and looked straight at her.

"You could, yes, or you could go into public relations offensive."

There were a few derisive laughs, and Logan rolled his eyes and shoved his way out of the crowd to where Agent Kenton could see him. "What do you think we've been doing since we established Terminal City?"

Agent Kenton gave Logan an icy smile. "Obviously, none of you have been well-trained in diplomatic or public relations. Even as you prove to the community that you're doing good, you're scaring them with your physical capabilities. You need to tone it down, show them you're normal people, people that don't always have a violent purpose."

"Kenton mean like painting?" Joshua asked curiously. Agent Kenton's brows wrinkled for a moment as he tried to understand what Joshua was saying, then his face cleared.

"Yes, like painting. Community service projects, support for the arts, tree planting, theater productions, kids going to school and getting a normal education… that sort of thing. You need to show the public that you can be incorporated into normal society, and better, Seattle."

There was a murmur of voices now as everyone discussed Agent Kenton's proposed idea. Small heated arguments broke out among groups, and Max looked grimly at Agent Kenton. He was certainly good at his job; he'd managed to turn a question about what his people were doing into a statement about what the transgenics could be doing.

"Very nice work, Agent Kenton," Max said, hiding any hint of the dry sarcasm she meant.

"Thank you, Max." Agent Kenton inclined his head and gave her a small smile, choosing to take her compliment at face value. Max sighed; she didn't feel like fighting this out any further at the moment. She raised her hands for silence and waited until the conversations died away to a scattered murmuring.

"We'll meet in the morning to discuss this again," Max said, glancing at Agent Kenton to let him know that he was expected to be there. "For now, let's get some sleep, people."

Conversation immediately rose up again, some protesting the close of the meeting. Max didn't care; she moved away so that the others could barrage Agent Kenton with questions. In the meantime, she made her escape out the side door where she knew Logan would be waiting.

Logan gave her one of his sardonic smiles as she quickly closed the door and leaned against it, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I hate doing this," she said.

Logan shrugged. "Someone had to. And unfortunately, you were at the right place at the right time." They moved away from the building, heading toward the apartment they carefully shared.

"You told me leaders are supposed to be elected," Max said.

"Not all the time," Logan quickly interrupted. "Some of our greatest…" he paused to consider, than chuckled, "well, and most terrible leaders have arisen out of necessity. When the crowd demands a leader, they find someone." He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Just so you know, the best ones usually do step down eventually."

Max laughed. "Believe me, I have no plans to become your benevolent dictator. I'm ready to be replaced as soon as we're ready to hold elections."

"Hmm, benevolent? Now, that wasn't exactly the word I was thinking of…"

"Ok, wise guy," Max said. "You don't hush, and I'll stop my weekly foray into the wine cellars of that French restaurant you love so much."

"I give, I give," Logan said, holding up his hands. "Anything but the wine."

"Thought so," Max said with a self-satisfied smirk. She knew him too well. She could almost wish that dealing with the problems of Terminal City was as easy as her relationship with Logan, but that would be a messed-up wish, considering how complicated and frustrating their relationship could be. Maybe Max should just give up on the idea of a nice, normal, uncomplicated life; perhaps that was just a childish dream.

"Max?"

"Yes?" Max asked, looking at Logan.

"I can tell you're getting moody on me. Don't, ok? It's a hassle to get you out of." His eyes twinkled as he looked at her. "Go work on Robin's wedding or something if that will make you feel better."

Max smiled. No need to remind Logan that she might not be in charge of planning the wedding much longer with Seth's deployment; she still had another night to fill the book in with her ideas at least.

"I might just do that," Max replied.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you to: Marcus Sylenus, nattylovesu, Dark girl, Callie, Unknown x5, S a i r a h i n i e l. I appreciate all the reviews, you guys have no idea how much they mean to me! XD

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2  
**

Chapter 3

Dawn rose hazy and grey over Seattle as a small group of transgenics gathered on the street outside of the T.C. headquarters. An army jeep was parked nearby, and a couple of rugged, no-nonsense Special Forces soldiers were standing at the back of it, waiting for the transgenics leaving on the mission to climb in. The five who were going on the mission were dressed in old desert uniforms that had been used back in the War on Terror. They were a lot different for the X-series troops than their Manticore issue urban warfare grays, but Jane and Mole, the two Desert-Acclimated Commandos, seemed more comfortable than ever. They were standing stoically near Joshua and a couple other transhumans while Anica, Krit and Seth finished saying their goodbyes.

Robin had her arms around Seth's waist while his chin rested on top of her head. With dark-dyed skin and black hair, Seth almost looked Middle Eastern; Robin had already made him swear to dye his hair back to its original color for the wedding. Squished between her parents, Taylor gurgled and clapped her hands, not comprehending the situation at all.

"Last chance for me to back out," Seth murmured. Robin shivered as she felt his chest rumble with his words, and she clung on to him tighter.

"Like you would do that," Robin replied. She rested her cheek against his chest and wished that the jeep and the mission would just disappear.

Seth chuckled. "If you told me to, you know I would." His thumb rubbed comforting circles on the back of her hand.

Robin shook her head. "They need you. Besides, it'll be nice to have you out of my hair while I get the rest of the wedding together."

"You don't mean that." Seth placed a row of soft, warm kisses across her forehead. Robin let out a long sigh and looked up into his blue eyes.

"No, I don't."

He kissed her cheeks, the corner of her mouth, her lips, and then pulled back. "Good. Otherwise, I might be sad."

"Wouldn't want that," Robin said, attempting to smile at his joke. She put her hand on his chest. "Watch yourself out there, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Seth said. He saluted her loosely, a smile on his face, before he reached and brushed his fingers down her face. Looking down at Taylor, he took the baby from her mother and held her close. "Hey, sweetheart. You look after your mom, okay?"

Taylor responded by becoming serious, her grey-blue eyes resting on her father's. Seth smiled, kissed her cheek and handed her back to Robin.

"You're going to be careful, right?" Seth asked, cupping Robin's face with one hand while the other rested on her waist.

She gave him a cheeky smile. "We'll see about that."

"Robin," he said, shaking his head. He leaned forward and put his forehead against hers. "Don't do anything dangerous. Stay away from the humans, the walls, the sewers—"

Robin laughed, interrupting him. "Seth, I think I know how to take care of myself. What else were those years of training for?"

"Learning how to protect everyone but yourself, it seems," Seth said, his voice and eyes going dark for a moment. Robin looked down at the ground and then up at him. Smiling, she leaned her head back and kissed his jawline.

"What if I promise to try and not get shot while you're gone?" she teased, "I'll try really, really hard."

"Don't even joke about it. The line of fire is a no-go zone for you, understood?"

"Got it, sir," she replied, grinning at him. He kissed her forehead again.

"I'll be back in a few weeks," Seth said, holding her to him, "It probably won't even seem that long, you'll be busy."

Robin pulled back and frowned at him. "And I'm certain it'll be interminably long."

"Think positive, love," he replied, smiling at her, "I'll call you when I can."

They shared another kiss before breaking apart, but Seth kept his hold on Robin's hand.

"Hey, Seth," Sidda exclaimed, appearing beside them, "Don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on her and Taylor." She threw a bright smile at her best friend's fiancé and then put an arm around Robin's shoulder. "Don't want her to have to plan a wedding and take care of the kid all by herself in a cold, lonely apartment."

"You always make me feel so much better," Robin said sarcastically, making a face, but she had to admit, it would be nice having Sidda around to help out. Besides, every now and then she did miss her old roommate. At least when Sidda wasn't bent on trying to drive her crazy.

Standing nearby, Alec glanced over at Sidda and then gave Seth a longsuffering look. "You owe me an apartment mate."

"I think you mean bed mate," Syl said as she and Krit broke through to the front of the group. Her eyes teased Sidda and Alec, but the two of them only smirked at each other. Syl rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Krit.

"Hey, you, don't fall for any cheap gizmos with nice facing, got it?" she said, a smirk on her face. Krit snorted as he bent down and kissed her cheek.

"You know they don't have anything worthwhile out there," he said as he straightened up, "American-made is the best."

"Damn right," Syl replied. She grabbed the front of Krit's shirt and pulled him down to her level so she could kiss him full on the lips. There were catcalls all around. Krit's eyes widened until he closed them in utter bliss. That contentment ended a moment later when Syl roughly pushed him away and hit him up against the head with the palm of her hand. "And don't you forget it!"

"I won't," Krit said, rubbing at the place she had hit him, "How could I with love like that?" While he pouted at Syl, Max stepped forward and hugged him.

"I wish we didn't have to do this," Max said, burying her face for a moment in her brother's shoulder.

Krit patted her back. "It'll all work out, Maxie. It always does."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I have to like it," she said as she stepped away.

While everyone was finishing up with their goodbyes, Dalton rounded the corner of the building and blurred toward the group, almost crashing into Syl and Krit. Luckily, the tall X5 male grabbed Dalton's shoulder and brought him to a halt before he could run anyone over.

"Going somewhere?" Krit joked as Dalton, still dressed in his night clothes, looked around, his dark eyes searching the group. He found what he was looking for, and a blush crept into his cheeks.

Alec followed Dalton's stare and found Anica at the end of it. The pretty girl was hugging a couple other X6s, both girls and most likely her apartment mates. Ah.

Alec walked over to where Dalton had stopped as if someone had shot him with a stun gun. What a goof-up. He was Alec's favorite X6, if he had to pick one.

Alec glanced back toward Sidda and saw her looking at him, her gaze amused. She flicked her gaze at Dalton and looked back at Alec, questioning. He nodded, and she smiled, turning back to Robin and Seth who were now talking with Max. Damn, it was nice to be understood without having to speak. He stepped behind Dalton and clapped a hand around his shoulder. "If you're going to say anything to her, I'd start saying it."

Dalton jumped and turned his head to look wide-eyed up at Alec. "I can't."

Alec pinched the shoulder of Dalton's faded black t-shirt and gave it a gentle shake. "Then why'd you come here in your pajamas?"

"Got lost," was Dalton's surly reply, "Sleep-blurring."

"Yeah, right." Alec shoved the kid forward. "Just go say goodbye and get it over with. It won't kill you."

"It's not that easy," Dalton said, "I'm not you." He whipped back around and tried to go back, but no luck. Sidda was suddenly at his side, steering him in a tight circle back to face Anica.

"Nope, you're not Alec. Consider it a good thing," she said. She tightened her hold on Dalton's arm and gave him a reassuring smile. "Just go be yourself, and tell her goodbye."

"Hey, tell her you wanna go out when she gets back, as a victory celebration," Alec suggested. He and Sidda made a wall blocking Dalton's escape as Sidda moved to stand beside Alec.

The X6 stared at them, his mouth half open. "Unfair."

"Tough love, kiddo," Sidda said, winking at him. "Now go."

Dalton frowned at both of them before slowly turning around, his shoulders tensing up. Robin and Seth walked over to Alec and Sidda, and Robin pointed toward Dalton as the X6 trudged up to Anica, his feet dragging.

"What's gotten into him?" she asked.

"Puppy love," Syl declared, "Bad case."

"Have you suddenly become the relationship guru around here?" Sidda asked, her eyebrows lifting.

Syl tossed her a smile. "Sure, if that's what you want to call it."

Robin smiled and twisted her fingers through Seth's. It didn't seem like such a bad idea to start loving someone when you were young; it meant you got to love them longer.

The last of the goodbyes and good-lucks were made, and the team started to load into the truck. Seth turned around one last time before climbing into the back of the truck and saluted Robin. She managed to smile back and mouth to him, "Come home." He nodded his reply before disappearing behind the flap. The jeep rumbled to life and rolled out toward the gate, leaving Robin with an uneasy feeling but her friends beside her.

------------------------------------

A couple day's after the mission team left, a small meeting was held in Max's office to discuss how they were going to handle the growing human vs. transgenics relations crisis.

"Community outreach, huh?" Sidda spun the office chair around so that she was facing the door, then spun it back so that she was looking at Max again.

"Joshua's already been selling paintings, but now he wants to do painting lessons. Gem's going to offer some cooking lessons, and I was going to teach a martial arts class. Syl's offered to read to local children…" Max grinned at the looks on their faces. "Don't worry, Sy'ls good with them. Surprisingly, I know." She tapped her pen against the sheet of paper she'd been taking notes on. "Do you have anything you're good at, Sidda? Or Alec?"

"Alec could give piano concerts and lessons," Sidda said, grinning up at him.

Alec shrugged and gave a resigned sigh. "But only if she gives dance lessons," he said, looking down at her. He remembered how good she'd been back at Italy.

"Long as I have my partner to help me demonstrate."

Max ignored their bantering, instead writing down the necessary information. "Dance…piano…good." She looked up. "Robin, how about you?"

Robin hesitated. "I guess I could teach drawing…" she said slowly.

"Hey, Robin, you do some interior decorating, right?" They all looked up at the sound of Logan's voice. He was standing in the shadows of the doorway, arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Yes…." Robin said, looking at him curiously. Robin glanced at Max. "I guess I could do some of that, but I didn't think that was what…"

"No, no, that's not what I meant." Logan waved an idle hand and moved into the room. "More like set design…" He paused and thought for a moment, then continued. "Giving lessons is a good start and all, but it's not enough. It doesn't get past the local community." His eyes flicked to Max as if this was something they'd been talking about already. From Max's guarded expression, it was something she hadn't necessarily agreed with either.

"What'll work better?" Alec asked, genuinely curious. He hadn't noticed Max's expression.

"Well, I was talking about this with Krit before he left," Logan was getting excited now, standing up straighter, hands moving energetically as he talked. "We were thinking about a T.V show. Everyone watches T.V, no matter who they are or what their station in life is. They're more sympathetic to unusual ideas if the ideas are presented as part of some sort of story. If we introduce the people in Terminal City as characters they should care about…"

"Wait, you mean like a reality TV show?" Alec asked. He fiddled with his jacket uneasily, as if he couldn't decide if this idea was a brilliant one or a terrible one.

"Well, yes, I guess you could call it that, only we wouldn't have contests or anything like the game shows. It would be just one of those shows that follows some of the day-to-day activities of people here in T.C. To show that you're just like everyone else."

Sidda snorted, understanding completely why Max looked so tense about this. "Logan, that's the problem. We're not like everyone else. What do we show them? Us crawling through sewers, beating up a crowd of humans when we're outnumbered 10-1? Transhumans who can withstand extreme temperatures? I don't think that will go over well."

Logan nodded, then shook his head. "No…but yes." He smiled as everyone gave him a confused look. "Look, if we have everyone doing all these community things… why not start with that? Then show the fallible side of transhumans. Show us dealing with normal problems, like trying to cook, attempting to renovate apartments, figuring out how to take care of kids…I know we've got a lot of charismatic people." He grinned at Max, "I bet a few of the younger guys here could probably win their own fan clubs."

"Oh, I dunno, Logan, all that fame would be a bit tough to handle…" Alec chuckled as Sidda shoved his arm.

"Let's try to keep the fame part low-key," Max said, rolling her eyes at Alec. "That's one of my biggest concerns, actually. If we're all recognized, that could put many of us in a lot of danger."

Robin shuddered, thinking with her bodyguard-tuned mind. "It would be a security nightmare," she said.

Sidda had to agree. "How would you fix that, Logan? Assuming we went with the idea, we absolutely can't compromise our identities like that."

"Well, actually, that's what I came here to talk to Max about, before I found you all here," he said. "I've come up with a few options, each wither their advantages and disadvantages. We could try gelatin masks… something Ms. Doubtfire-ish…oh, wait, never mind, you don't know that reference…" He shook his head. "Anyways, it could look realistic, but it'd be uncomfortable. If you all didn't mind the community knowing who you were, we could simply CGI your faces before broadcasting the TV show so that you'll look like someone else."

They all hesitated, looking at each other. "We'll discuss it," Max finally said. "With everyone. This is something the whole community has to agree on."

Logan nodded, still looking very determined. "Well, until tonight then I'll keep working on it."

"Alec! Little fella! And everyone!" They all turned at the sound of the familiar voice as Joshua entered the room, looking beside himself with joy as he went around the room bestowing hugs.

"Either the population of Terminal City has become very small, or we're everyone that matters," Alec whispered in Sidda's ear. She laughed and turned to look at him.

"Dork."

Once Joshua had released Max, he snatched up the list that Max had been keeping and scrutinized it closely, nodding his head in agreement with the contents of the list.

"Hmm, yes, many good ideas." He nodded his head at Max. "I take list now, ok? I get everyone together."

Max smiled. "You do that, Joshua."

Joshua eyed each of them sternly. "You come to the meeting tonight. I've got lots to talk about. I'm in charge of making people love us." He looked at Max. "Right little fella?"

"Right, big fella."

Joshua nodded brusquely and then strode out, mumbling under his breath. It was obvious that he loved having such an important job, especially one that pertained to the artistic stuff he loved so well.

---------------------------

After the meeting, Robin, who had offered to make lunch for a few transgenics in their apartment building, walked into the kitchen to start making lunch. Sidda brushed past Alec as they entered the living room and did a flying leap onto the couch. The blond, short transgenic punched one of the pillows and then lay still, her shoulders still bunched in annoyance. Grinning, Alec grabbed her feet and lifted them so he could sit down on the couch. He let them fall into his lap, but Sidda didn't move.

"Seriously?!" she eventually declared into the couch cushions, her voice muffled, "Did that seriously just happen?"

"Yes, I think it seriously did," Alec said with mock solemnity. He grabbed her feet and held them still as she tried to kick him in the face. With swift movements, he unlaced and pulled off her boots then threw them into a corner. Her feet were a lot less dangerous when they were only armored with soft, frog-covered purple socks instead of her tan hiking boots.

"It's really not that bad," Robin put in from the kitchen. She looked out at them over the counter. "I mean, everything besides the reality TV show idea."

Sidda flipped herself over and shook her head violently. "Oh, don't even get me started on that one. One episode of that show could get us all killed."

"Or make us look like innocent victims," Alec countered. When Sidda glared at him venomously, he laughed and yanked on her ankles, pulling her toward him. "You're looking at the negatives."

"You don't really think that we should have cameras trained on our every move, do you?" Sidda said. She sat up and pulled her legs out of his laps so she could tuck them underneath her.

Alec gave her a positively roguish smile. "Every move? Even night time activities?"

"You're ridiculous," Sidda said, shoving him in the shoulder.

"And you're right, the TV idea does sort of suck," Alec said. He leaned back and played his fingers along her kneecap. "But a little news time with some transgenics couldn't be that bad. Maybe something like day in the life of the transgenics."

"Now we're a soap opera," Sidda moaned, flopping back onto the couch.

"As dramatic as you are, that should be easy," Robin said. She grinned to herself as she dug some vegetables out of the fridge. "Actually, that would work. Our lives are so messed up, we'd make the perfect soap opera." She put a bunch of carrots and celery on the counter and looked expectantly at Alec and Sidda. Sidda was staring at the ceiling, irritation clear on her face, and Alec was pretending not to notice Robin watching them. Robin set the vegetables on the counter with a loud smack, knowing that they would have to get up eventually.

Alec smirked at Sidda. "Robin may be on to something." He reached over and grabbed Sidda's hands. While she grumbled, he pulled her up and into a sitting position. Her pout only made him smile wider. "Unrequited love. Possible incest. Heat."

"I don't think the human world is quite ready for heat," Sidda said. She shoved her hair back from her face and looked over at Robin. The taller blonde cast her gaze over to the vegetables on the counter before looking back at Sidda; her command was easy to read.

Sighing, Sidda slid off the couch and headed over to the counter. She perched on one of the bar stools, grabbed a knife from the nearby holder and started chopping vegetables. It was one of the few cooking chores that Robin would let her do.

There was a knock on the door, rapid and quick. "I'll get it!" Alec declared, more willing to entertain whoever was coming in than help cook.

He rushed to the door and opened it. Two X5s stepped in, the woman in front of the man. Alec grinned at Everett, a reliable transgenic with dark brown hair and striking grey eyes. Everett had been in Alec's unit back in Manticore. He was the same height as Alec, and Mona, his mate, was only a few inches shorter than him, about 5'8".

With dark red hair that had not been cut since Manticore was taken down, Mona was a beautiful, willowy X5 who looked breakable, as if she had not been created to be a killing machine. Everything about her was graceful and delicate, but give the girl some house hold products and she could make an explosive that would take out half of T.C. She was an ammunitions specialist, and she did her job amazingly well. Mona's gently protruding stomach, barely noticeable under her loose shirt, was a new element, one that both of them were immensely proud of, especially Everett. He had already started a betting pool on whether it was going to be a girl or a boy; Alec had instinctively put money on both. Something told him that it was going to be twins, and if not, at least he'd get something out of it.

"Hey, welcome to the apartment that isn't mine," Alec said.

"What, Robin turn you into a doorman?" Everett said, grinning at the other X5.

"She took Sidda hostage. There wasn't much else I could do."

"You could rescue me!" Sidda's voice exclaimed from the counter.

"I'm trying!" Alec replied. He threw a wry smile over his shoulder at Robin who had come out of the kitchen, rubbing her hands on a towel. She popped him with the tip of it as she passed.

"Stop trying to steal my help," she scolded. She immediately hugged both Everett and Mona, exclaiming greetings, and then pulled Mona into the kitchen, a place that was quickly becoming the heart of Robin and Seth's apartment. "Come on, hope you like sandwiches and salads."

"Sounds delicious," Mona said, pulling the carrots toward her immediately so that she could start cutting them. Ever since Seth had left, Robin had been constant holding lunches and dinners in her apartment, as if constant work and talking could make her forget what he was doing. The neighbors had been forewarned by Sidda, but most of them were happy when they got an invite, and some were even hurt when they didn't get one. They were all just glad not to have to cook for a meal, and doing something as simple as helping Robin cut up vegetables was a much easier task that they were only too happy to do.

"Suck-up," Sidda muttered even as she hugged their neighbor. Mona smiled indulgently.

"I'm just so grateful to not have to do all the cooking that I don't mind something as simple as this." She stopped to nibble on a carrot. "Robin, however did you get so good at making food? Everett never says anything, but pretty much anything I try that doesn't come from a strict recipe turns out to be a disaster."

Robin shrugged. "Most of my stuff comes from recipes too. I just read enough to get the general idea of what ingredients work together and what don't."

"She still has a very misguided idea about ham and pineapple though," Sidda informed Mona.

"Mmm, I dunno, that sounds really good," Mona said. Her eyes slid toward the fridge. "You wouldn't happen to have any, would you?" Then she blushed. "Ugh, never mind. Stupid cravings."

Robin and Sidda looked at each other and laughed; they remembered how much of a pain Robin's cravings used to be.

"So, have you heard about the cultural revolution that we have apparently decided to embark on?" Sidda asked, restlessly chopping the celery into tiny diced pieces. "It's absolutely ridiculous, not to mention dangerous."

"If you couldn't tell, it's the topic that's been at the forefront of Sidda's mind for, what, the last hour or so?" Alec called out from the living room. Sidda grabbed a pepper shaker and threw it at him. He caught it deftly and set it down on the table.

"I guess I shouldn't replace those with less durable ones," Robin muttered, eyeing the saltshaker. She carefully moved it out of Sidda's reach.

Sidda rolled her eyes. "There is a reason that most of the stuff in this apartment is unbreakable," Sidda reminded Robin.

"And I was going to be nice and blame that on the fact that I have a baby who will be crawling around in the next few months," Robin said.

Mona sighed happily at the mention of a baby. "You know, I wouldn't mind if we could figure out a way to make Terminal City a little more peaceful," she said, caressing her belly. "It'd be nice for my baby if it didn't have to come into such a rough world."

"Yeah, well, I don't think a reality TV show will solve your problems," Sidda said. She got up from the stool and went to the kitchen window to open it. When Mona and Robin turned to look at her, Sidda shrugged. "I was hot."

"A little worked up from this whole TV thing?" Everett asked, moving into view. He winked at her.

"What is this TV show you're talking about anyway?" Mona asked, tipping the carrots and celery into the bowl Robin had pulled out. "I don't remember anyone mentioning it before."

"It just got mentioned," Alec said. "Logan and Krit's idea."

"Oooo," Mona said. She shook her head and smiled. "Boys and their toys."

"Hey!" Everett exclaimed. "I resent the implication that all we want to do is play with new gadgets. I bet Logan and Krit had some sound ideas for the TV show."

"Oh, sure, it sounds great until you think about the fact that it puts up WANTED posters for every single transgenic that appears on it," Sidda growled.

"That does present a problem," Mona admitted. "Showing our faces in public at all leads us closer to danger every time we do it."

Robin appeared from the depths of the refrigerator, a plate of sandwiches in her hand. "You know…" she said slowly. "What if we mixed humans and transgenics? We could start with those who already support us, then bring a mix to community events. If we never say directly who is who, no one will be able to really tell as long as we don't show the transhumans. And…"

She set the plate on the counter, getting into her idea now. "If we rotated people through constantly and evenly, no one would really even be able to pick out who might be helping us. They can't attack a whole city block just because the people happen to live near and interact with transgenics."

Sidda put her head into her hands. "Please don't give Logan another reason to go with this crazy idea."

"Actually, it sounds kind of logical to me," Everett said. "With all the brains we have, we should be able to come up with a careful way to present that. Maybe not necessarily a TV show, but just a general broadcasting every now.

"Oh, yeah, and here's the update on your local transgenic population," Sidda said sarcastically.

Alec moved behind Sidda and gently rubbed her shoulders, trying to calm her down. He knew the TV show idea bothered her, but even he was a bit surprised at how angry about it she was. Then again, when Sidda got something fixed in her mind, she was usually pretty stubborn about changing it. He actually kind of loved that about her. Except when she was dead-set against an idea of his, of course.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: You guys are awesome for reviewing! I love seeing what you say about this story; lol, hopefully this chapter gives you something to talk about. Thank you to Alexa, Sandra, Winchester girl, Deanna, Stargate fan, Marcus Sylenus and nattylovesu! You guy rock.

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 4

The alarm clock screamed for the ninth time that morning. Sidda did not even lift her hand as she reached over and grabbed the noisy piece of technology. Her merciless grasp cracked the hard plastic before she hauled back and hurled it at the wall. The clock shattered. It went silent, finally dead.

Growling under her breath, Sidda spread out her limbs. She was in the middle of the bed; her blankets and sheets had shoved off during the night, but Sidda still had not been able to get comfortable. She had even stripped down to her underwear, but that had not worked either. Everything was too hot. She was burning, and she needed something, but she wasn't sure what it was.

Snatching her cell phone off the nightstand, she flicked a button on the side. The front panel lit up. It was eleven in the morning, three hours later than she usually got up on the weekdays. She vaguely remembered Robin coming in to wake her up, but she also sort of remembered snarling at her friend to make her get out.

Dropping the phone, Sidda sat up and got onto her knees, her hands clasped together behind her neck. It was too hot to stay in bed anymore. She had to get out of here… Especially since there was no one in bed with her. Shouldn't Alec have been here? Oh, yeah, she was staying with Robin. Alec was probably working by now, over at headquarters, where Robin would also be. Work. That was where she was supposed to be too. With Alec. Alec and his sculpted, muscled body, those chiseled features, perfect green eyes, that beautiful ass…

Time to get up. She slipped out of bed and sauntered over to the dresser, swaying her hips for no reason. Hmm, clothes optional? Sidda shook her head at her own stupid idea. Clothes were definitely a must. But what clothes…

Obviously she needed to wear those black jeans and that really too-tight dark green shirt that looked ripped in too many places. Cami under that? No…wait…yeah, the black one, the tight black one. And boots. Her black combat boots. Yeah, that was good. She ran her hand over her flat stomach and smirked at her image in the cracked mirror over the dresser. Really good. She looked good.

After she was dressed, Sidda walked into the kitchen, running her fingertips over the countertop. What was supposed to be doing today? It had something to do with Joshua and culture and dancing. Mmm, dancing. She needed to do that with someone, a partner. It'd be nice to dance with Alec again, but she wasn't in a waltzing mood. Grinding. Did Alec know how to grind? Grind naked? Mmm, naked…

Sidda stopped and put a hand to her head before rushing over to the fridge and throwing it open. She rummaged around in the freezer and pulled out a handful of ice. Wrapping it in a kitchen towel, she pressed it to her too-hot forehead and tried to think clearly as it swiftly melted, the freezing rivulets dripping past her closed eyes.

She was hot. She was wearing clothes she would never wear on a normal day. She was in a feral mood, more animal than human at the moment. She felt like she needed sex now or she would die. Sidda's eyes opened wide as she realized what was happening.

Heat. She was in heat. She had only been through this once, three months after she had gotten out of Manticore. The suppressants that they had been given back then had worn off, and she had gone into heat. She had ended up sleeping with an Ordinary named Gavin or Owen or something like that. She had not exactly been satisfied, and she had accidentally broken his right arm and his jaw and given him a concussion in the process. A blush crept into her already warm cheeks at the memory. How was she supposed to know he was screaming in pain instead of ecstasy?

She put both hands on her makeshift ice pack and forced it harder against her forehead. There was no doubt in her mind that whenever it was completely melted, she was going to slip back into that half-animal state of mind and go looking for what she needed. If she was going to keep what happened last time from repeating, she needed to lock herself in a closet…or find someone capable of handling this with her. And there were so many strong, male transgenics in Terminal City, and there was one in particular…if he could prove himself. She needed someone she wasn't going to break.

Instinct lowered her hand, dropped the wet towel onto the floor, and instinct drove her out the door, down the stairs, past the apartment that Alec and, until lately, she shared. She let her hand linger for a moment on the door, knowing he wasn't there.

Biting her lower lip in a grin, she headed into the ground level room where everyone kept their bikes, regular and motored, and headed over to the cherry red Ducati 1198 S. It was a refurbished 2009 model, gorgeous and all hers. There had been some leftover money from the Italian trip, and she just couldn't resist when she saw it half-destroyed and rusting in a junkyard she and Robin had been scavenging in for spare parts for Robin's street bike. Besides, all X5s and most transgenics as a whole had street bikes; she had needed one too, right?

After she ran the bike down the ramp, Sidda revved the engine and sped off toward HQ, going much faster than was safe. She had places to go, people to see, things to take care of. Besides, the wind made her cooler for a moment, let her think clearly. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She needed to get someone to lock her in a closet and keep the key for three days.

Heat flooded her veins again. No, this was right. A grin danced across her face. This was going to be fun.

-------------------------------

"Alec?"

Alec rubbed his forehead, trying to convince himself that there was no need to be distracted. But something was bothering him. He just couldn't place what it was.

"Ummm…"

"Alec, you okay?" He looked at Robin, who was peering at him with concern.

"Yeah, uh, where's Sidda?" All of the sudden he needed to know the answer to that question, right at that moment. He needed Robin to tell him. His eyes burned into hers as he demanded an answer.

"Well, she didn't want to get up this morning… she was very hot, I think she might have been…"

Robin's apartment, that was all he needed to know. He brushed passed Robin, and for some reason, instead of going out the door closest to him, he made for the back door. Hot. His Sidda was hot…yeah, she was very, very hot, Robin was right about that. And she was also _his_.

Alec glanced suspiciously at the guys near him. None of them seemed to be making for the door… good. He would have to hurt them if they were trying to go to Sidda.

Alec snapped his attention back to the door as it opened. Though it had been opened slowly, seductively, it was like a big wind had threw it open. There was Sidda in the doorway, looking the way she did only in the beginning of his most sinful fantasies… and there was every other male in the room, looking at her too.

"Crap," he heard a female near him say, "She's in heat."

Female. Non-threatening. Alec growled as he shoved past a few of the transgenics standing around. He had to take Sidda away from there. He had to take her to their apartment… Theirs, not Robin. She was going back to his apartment. And no other male was going to touch her.

"Hey," a rough voice said near him. Alec didn't even bother to look as his arm caught the guy by the throat, and he shoved him against the wall. The male grabbed Alec's wrist and started to wrench his way out of his grip, but when he saw who it was who had attacked him, he stopped and bowed his head in agitated submission. Alec dropped him and moved on. One less member of the male species to worry about.

Sidda seemed to be enjoying all the attention way too much. As Alec watched her eyes lingered on one of the males near her, he fought the urge to blur over there and choke the guy. Some small, rational part of Alec's brain had registered the comment that Sidda was in heat and recognized the fact that he was responding to that heat. But… the prospect of Sidda in heat was just something that he didn't want to entirely fight off. He just wanted to fight for it.

When Sidda ran her hand down the man's chest though, Alec did lose it. He ran over, pushing past people, and threw the man far away from Sidda. Sidda gave him one of her mischievous, way-too-tempting smirks, followed by an adorable pout.

"You're ruining the fun, Alec," she said, even as she shifted herself so that she was pressed up against Alec. Alec groaned, trying to fight the need to take her… take her right there.

"Hey, you two…door…" A female watched them warily, holding the door open. Door, right. Alec remembered his plan. He was going to take her back to the apartment where she would be safe. Alec gripped Sidda's arm and started pulling her toward the door.

Sidda was distracted by a guy standing close to the door on the way, and she flashed a smile at him. Alec rounded on him just as the guy tried to pull Sidda in closer to him.

"Don't touch her!" Alec said, swinging his fist at the guy. He caught the transgenic unawares; Alec smiled as his fist connected to the guy's face with a satisfying crunch. What was the guy's name anyway? B…something B. It didn't really matter.

Alec turned around to grab Sidda again and saw her among a group of guys, clearly attempting to seduce them. Alec ground his teeth in frustration. He loved Sidda's wild nature, but it was very frustrating when he was burning with the double need to get her away from other men and into his bed.

"Alec, Alec…" Alec looked down as he realized that someone was talking to him. Max. Her hands were pressed against his chest, and she was pushing him toward the door.

"Go wait outside and we'll see that she gets out there, ok? Just wait outside, don't worry, we won't let anything happen to her. Come on, Alec, go!"

Alec considered for a second and eyed Sidda. She looked up and met his eyes, all coy smiles and sexy grace. Her eyes flashed as she took in the sight of Max, way too close to Alec… Alec was her man. Hers only. Alec was supposed to be fighting for her, not looking at some other girl. Sidda's hands clenched and accidentally broke the edge of the table she was sitting on.

"Whoa," some stupid transgenic near her said. "Look at that display of muscle. Mmm." Sidda tossed her head and bestowed a smile upon him for admiring her. He actually wasn't that bad-looking. Sidda leaned closer to him and trailed her fingers along his neck. Yes, perhaps he would do.

No, no… his jokes were lame, and there was a much better-looking guy next to him. Sidda turned her attention to the dark-haired male with light-blue eyes. Maybe he would do. Though really, most of them men gathered around her looked very nice. Perhaps she would just take them all. Yes, that sounded like the best solution. But Alec…

"Anyone want to follow me back to my apartment?" Sidda asked, smiling at the lot. They all stood up immediately, and Sidda purred in satisfaction. Now, if only she could manage to make it back to the apartment without jumping anyone's bones…

Sidda glanced at Alec from underneath her eyelashes. These other males, they were toys, but if Alec didn't step up, she would make do with one of them. Of course, with the way he was looking at her, trying to burn her clothes off with his eyes…mmm, it was sorta tasty. She'd never had sex with him when he was angry before. And pushing his buttons was sooo much fun.

Someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward. It was the tall X5 with the shaggy black hair, the tan skin and the intense brown eyes. "You don't want all of them. You only need me."

Although someone in the back of her mind was screaming at her to not to, she pressed herself against him, her fingers splayed out across his chest. What was his name? Mmm, oh yeah, Lexington. A former C.O. back at Manticore, therefore possibly an alpha classification. He smelled like cinnamon, autumn sun and hard work. It was a wonderful, utterly yummy scent, but it wasn't the right smell. His hand trailed down her face, dabbling through the fire that was bursting like sun flares across her skin.

"Your apartment or mine?" he asked, his other hand moving to her waist. Sidda smiled and then pulled back; she didn't want him, she wanted—

"Alec, don't you dare!" Sidda heard some female voice yell, and suddenly Lexington was gone, his body crashing into one of the card tables. Alec was in his place, his back to Sidda as he faced Lexington, probably seeing him as his biggest threat among the males. Lexington sprang to his feet and charged Alec, but Alec dodged to the side and twisted around to kick Lexington in the back of the head. The other male recovered quickly, whipping around to face Alec.

Sidda was vaguely aware that this was a very bad, potentially deadly situation, but the cat side of her only noticed Max blurring toward them. Toward Alec. That bitch wanted Alec. Sidda intercepted her, darting behind Max just as the other female rushed by. She grabbed both of Max's shoulders and hauled back, hurling the other female to the ground. She had ten extra years of training on Max, and she wasn't about to let some 09er get to her mate, not while she still had breath in her.

A split second of her human side screaming that Max was her friend kept her from stomping on Max's windpipe with her combat boot, and in that second, Max grabbed Sidda's foot and propelled her into the air. Mid-air, Sidda twisted and landed on her feet, blurring back toward Max, but a hand grabbed her by the upper arm and yanked her off course.

Alec's fingers burned on her bare skin, almost as hot as the fire searing her veins. Blood was dripping from his upper lip, and Sidda couldn't stop herself from going up on her tiptoes to kiss him right on that spot. Something inside her was vicious right now, a side of her she didn't know existed. Alec's lips were rough against hers, and his hands traveled her body, tugging at her clothes.

"No more games. We're going home," Alec growled at her when they finally broke apart, "Now."

"And what if I don't want to go with you?" Sidda asked even as her hands sneaked under his shirt to play with his belt.

Alec groaned and then grabbed both of her wrists, holding them still as he stole another violent kiss. "Not your choice anymore."

A shiver of pleasure rushed over Sidda. "Was it ever my choice?"

"No."

His hand was iron around her wrist as he took her out of HQ, not that that was necessary; she would have followed him willingly, led the way even. No other male approached them as Alec stormed away, pulling Sidda behind him.

----------------------

Robin slammed the door shut behind Sidda and Alec before any of those mindless males got it into their mind to challenge Alec. She was going to kill Sidda later or at least give her a stern, hard lecture on controlling herself during heat. Yes, it was a hard thing to do, but it was possible to at least try. She didn't have to go crazy and drive herself down to HQ to make life a nightmare.

After most of the males went back to work or excused themselves from the room, Robin walked over to Max. The female transgenic was shooing off the males, snapping at them and hitting them as she felt the need. They all shuffled off, shoulders bowed, heads down, embarrassed or disappointed.

"Are you okay, Max?" Robin asked as she reached her.

Max waved her off. "I'm fine. She just caught me off guard." She sighed and glared at the closed door. "What the hell was she doing, anyways, coming here when she was in heat?"

Robin sighed and walked over to where Lexington had eventually landed. The poor guy was unconscious; Alec had really punched him hard that last time. As she bent down to make sure nothing was broken on Lex, she kept talking to Max. "Sidda…this is just what she's told me, but when she's in heat, she really loses it. She can't think straight at all or only for a short period. The last time this happened, the guy she had sex with ended up in the hospital."

"Damn Manticore," Max grumbled, "They really did a shitty job with us, didn't they?" Her bitter face turned soft as she looked down at Lexington. "Is he going to be okay?"

Robin nodded. "Definitely, but it wouldn't hurt to take him over to the infirmary. Alec wasn't exactly pulling his punches."

Max rolled her eyes. "No, not really." She rubbed the bridge of her nose and then yelled for a couple of X5 guys who were standing around. They grabbed Lexington by his arms and legs and carried him out of the room, heading toward the infirmary.

------------------------------------

Sidda stretched and smiled, enjoying the feel of the sheets against her body. That had been one thing she'd agreed with Robin about when the other woman had tried to decorate her and Alec's apartment: silk sheets were a must.

"Feeling good?" Alec asked. Sidda rolled over to look at her mate who was lying on top of the sheets, unabashedly naked, with his arms behind his head. The sight would have turned her on last night, but now Sidda just felt sleepy and content.

"Mmm, yes," Sidda said, moving up next to him to share his warmth. She glanced at the clock on the other side of him. "10 a.m.… I wonder what day it is?

Alec laughed. "Well, thanks to the internal clocks that Manticore provided us, I'm sure you know what day it is."

Sidda grinned into Alec's chest and then looked up. "Yep, three days after I grabbed you out of headquarters. AKA, Thursday." Sidda suddenly laughed. "Oh my gosh…headquarters…" She punched Alec in the arm. "Why did you go there, you moron? Max is probably going to kill me."

"Yeah, probably. As long as you didn't kill her." He played with a strand of Sidda's hair. "And I didn't know you were in heat. That's what you get for staying at Robin's apartment."

"Learned my lesson, didn't I?" Sidda said, sitting up. She grabbed one of Alec's t-shirts from the chair beside the bed and threw it on. She tossed the shorts that had been sitting under it over to Alec.

"I think I look better without any clothes on…"

"I think you do, too, but we better go find out what's been happening while we were shutting ourselves away from the world."

"So you're just gonna go out in my t-shirt? Well, that is kinda sexy." Alec winked at her.

"No, I'll look a little more decent in a moment," she said, moving from the bedroom into the kitchen. She grimaced at the mess they had made of the living room the first day of Sidda's heat. They were simply lucky they'd had the restraint to wait until the apartment.

Sidda felt ravenous. She opened the fridge and glanced inside, searching for something to satisfy her hunger. There wasn't really anything…. Sidda turned to the cabinets and smiled with satisfaction as she found an unopened bag of chips. She closed her eyes as she crunched down on the perfect salty taste. Oh, that tasted good.

"Mmmm." Alec wrapped one arm around Sidda's waist and reached over her shoulder with the other one to grab a chip from the bag.

"Get your own," Sidda said, shooting a glare at him. But she held the bag up so that he could grab an easier handful. It was entirely tempting to just stay at home with Alec and laze the day away, but at the same time she was itching to know what was going on with Terminal City. Who knew, maybe humans had staged a mass protest or perhaps the government had decided to renege on their deal while Alec and Sidda were in the apartment. It was rather disconcerting not to be up-to-date.

As if someone was reading her mind, her cell phone rang just at that moment.

"Don't answer," Alec said, resting his head against Sidda's shoulder.

"It's just a phone call," Sidda said, moving to grab the phone.

"Yes, and phone calls always deliver the worst news."

"And the best," Sidda said, still attempting to get to the phone. She finally managed to get it and flipped it open. Alec held up his hands, saying that he had tried to warn her.

"Sidda?"

"Robin, the fact that you called me about five minutes after I woke up this morning could definitely be called uncanny."

"Yeah, well, I was there when you went into heat, and I know when it wears off. Can you come into headquarters? And Alec too?"

"Sure," Sidda said, glancing at Alec. She was going to kill Robin if this was bad news. "Is it an emergency?"

"No, no, nothing like that. Joshua just wants to have a meeting again."

"Ahh, got it. I'll be there in a bit."

"Ok, see ya."

"See?" Sidda said to Alec as she hung up the phone. "Not bad news."

"Not great either," Alec said with a sigh. "If it was anyone but Joshua, I would not be doing this."

"But it is, and so you are," Sidda said. She kissed him lightly. "Come on, let's go see our friends."

------------------------------------

They tried sneaking into HQ, but it was harder than they thought it would be. Sneaking in a side door was a good start, but the second they reached a more populated hallway, there were catcalls and whistles along with a few guys sheepishly disappearing into other rooms. Alec kept an arm around Sidda's waist the whole time, and she leaned against him, still feeling sleepy.

They avoided the main room and darted straight for the conference room. When they walked inside, everyone was smirking and grinning at them.

Sidda blushed and felt like burying her face into Alec's shoulder. Oh, going to HQ didn't seem like a good idea at all anymore.

"Nice going, Sidda," Syl said, smirking at them from behind a few papers in her hands. "If you wanted to destroy headquarters, what's wrong with a simple bomb?"

"What, Syl, jealous someone's getting some?" Alec replied. He smiled back at Syl who frowned at him. She didn't like being reminded that Krit was gone.

"They couldn't help it," Robin said to Syl, though she was smiling at Alec and Sidda too. "Nature and everything."

"All right, people, can we get on with this?" Max said. She motioned for Alec and Sidda to take a seat. Sidda peeked at the dark-haired transgenic, half expecting her to be furious about what had happened earlier that week. Instead, Max was smiling at her, one of those understanding looks. Sidda sighed in relief and sat down, ready to throw herself into whatever project Joshua wanted them to do. She noticed Alec yawn out of the corner of her eye and grinned. Of course, sleeping a little more would be nice too.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: YAY! Thank you to Alexa, Tina, x5 416, Sandra, Grace, Winchester girl, Unknown x5, Rose, Lea, Lexy, Alie and Jo for reviewing the last chapter! I'm glad you all enjoyed it so much, and thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews!

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 5

Logan jumped as someone touched his shoulder, waking him up from his nap. He turned to look up at a feminine face, pale and framed with dark red hair. Adenine.

"Hey, sleepy-head," she said, poking him in the shoulder again, "You're drooling on your test notes."

Logan groaned and sat up, rubbing at the back of his neck and brushing away the drool that, surprise, wasn't there. Funny, Nine… "How long have I been out?"

"Max said to let you sleep, so we did," Nine replied. She walked around the edge of the desk and sat down at her own station. "But you started snoring, and it was more than a little distracting."

"Sorry," Logan muttered. He looked down at the notes in front of him, the ones he had fallen asleep over. They were translations of Max's most current tattoos. He still had not figured out the entire message, but he had made out some words: second, child, light, hope. Whatever that meant, he didn't know. He would have discovered the exact meaning sooner, but he was expending most of his energy on helping the scientists, Hayden, the one from the Italian mission, and Ted, who had tried to run for the Amazon.

Ted was now completely compliant and did not require any supervision, but Hayden was another story. He was only still there because A: the government would sweep him up if he tried to go to them and B: most of the transgenics in the city would have loved to kill him if he did something wrong. It made life interesting, Hayden cursing all of them while working beside Ted, who noticeably had an eye on Nine.

Marie was also often in the lab, but she still wasn't much help. Every now and then she would spout off some interesting detail or memory that might or might not be helpful, but usually she just wandered around in a daze or worked by herself. Max hoped that she would one day get better, recover from the shock of losing her husband, but Logan was not going to stake any of his major hopes in her.

He slid off the stool and moved toward the vials that were sitting on the table. Both Hayden and Ted were in their individual labs, working on projects: Ted was working on the Cure to Max's virus while Hayden was looking into creating heat-suppressing drugs. After Sidda and Alec's stunt the other week, it seemed like a good thing to be working on.

Logan glanced over at Adenine. She was working closely with Ted on the Cure, but so far none of the tests had been positive. Logan had thought that once they got a Manticore scientist, everything would go smoothly, but it seemed like the virus had been mutating, growing stronger, and the cure that Ted had first come up with had not survived the test trials. A new batch had been created and testing was supposed to occur soon, like…last night…

Logan turned toward Nine, rubbing his chin in curiosity. "Nine."

"Yeah?" she asked, turning her swivel chair around to face him. Logan looked around the room, wondering where the test vials that had been sitting on the table in the middle had gone.

"Did you run those tests while I was asleep?"

Nine quickly looked away. "Maybe."

Logan reached out and put a hand on the file cabinet. If he had been a transgenic, he would have crushed the metal he was grasping, but he wasn't transgenic, now was he?

"And?"

"And what?" Adenine turned toward him, her green eyes wide.

"And how did they turn out?" he said slowly. He knew the answer from the way she was asking, but he wanted to hear it for himself.

Nine's eyes were trained on the laptop in front of her, and Logan followed her line of sight. Negative. The test results were on the screen. All negative.

He felt like lifting the filing cabinet over his head and chucking it into a wall or crumpling it into a ball, but he didn't. He couldn't. Instead, he calmly removed his hand from the shelving unit and nodded. "Okay then." He gritted his teeth in what was possibly the fakest smile ever. "Better luck next time, right?"

Nine turned toward him, her hand extended. "Logan…"

He pulled away and shook his head, still wearing that plastered-on grin. "No, no, Nine, it's okay." He rubbed his hand over his face and let out a long sigh. "I'll let Max know, all right? Don't worry about it."

"All right," she said quietly.

"I'm going to go get some lunch, seeing how I slept all morning."

"You were up all night, Logan."

"Yeah, well, so was everyone else, and they're not sleeping, are they?" he snapped. He automatically regretted it when he saw the hurt expression on his face, but he just could not apologize right now. He had to get out of there, out into some open air, just go for a walk. "I'm going out. I'll see you later, Nine."

"Bye," he heard Nine say right before the door to the hall slammed closed.

--------------------------

Robin made a face at the awful noises coming out of the violin Dalton was attempting to play. She reached up and rubbed her ear, trying to expunge the screeches of the strings. The kid had been kicked out of every room in headquarters and his apartment building so far, so they had let him come into the building that Joshua had designated as the Cultural Center.

A lot of the transgenics were there, cleaning, fixing and painting everything white since Joshua had decided that eventually the whole place was going to be covered in murals. Dalton had taken up in one of the rooms that Robin was decorating, and it seemed like he was trying to kill the violin that he was supposed to be learning how to play.

She sighed and leaned against the wall, her hands over her ears as she tried to ignore the violin. It had been three weeks since Seth had left, and they had now drifted into August. The apartment had been lonely for a few days after Sidda had moved back into Alec's apartment a week and a half ago; Sidda had made a half-hearted attempt to return to Robin's apartment, but Alec had put all of her clothes and then her back into their apartment, ending that dilemma. Syl had moved into Robin's apartment instead, claiming she was there for the food. Robin was glad for the company, but she missed Seth. A lot. And he was supposed to be home already! Wasn't two weeks enough for whatever he had to do?

The violin made an extremely keen death keel, and immediately transgenics started yelling at Dalton to shut up.

"Dalton, if you don't put that thing down right now, I swear to God, I'll shove it down your throat!" some furious male voice roared, muffled through a few walls.

"Up his ass is a good place too."

"Impale him on it!"

Robin heard something behind her, and she turned around to find Sidda leaning against the doorway. She was paint-splattered and dirty with the muck that seemed to cover everything in Terminal City, but she was smiling. "I think I'm just going to beat him over the head with it," she said, throwing a look into the hallway over her shoulder.

Robin put down the lamp she had been situating on the desk and walked over to the doorway. "Aren't you supposed to be working on something?"

Sidda made a face. "Yeah, they've got me hauling trash out of all these rooms, but I'm taking a break." She held up the water bottle in her hand as an excuse. Wandering into the room, she turned around and looked at the walls Robin had painted two days ago. This whole room was sleek and comfortable at the same time, with a great view of Terminal City and beyond that, Seattle. Sidda let out a low whistle and sat down on the couch Robin had moved in there. "It always amazes me what you're able to get in these decorating excursions."

"Junkyards are awesome," Robin said, throwing a smile at Sidda. Robin indicated the couch was Sidda was sitting on. "Believe it or not, that couch was covered with scratchy brown-orange cloth. That black leather does wonders for it, doesn't it?"

"It really does. I never would have guessed at the grunge that lies beneath," Sidda said.

"Guess what this room is for?" Robin asked. She was bouncing on her toes slightly, obviously bursting with some sort of secret that she wanted to reveal to Sidda.

"Um…I really don't know," Sidda said, looking around. It simply looked like a really nice living room.

"It's the waiting room slash lounge for your dance studio. They all have one. People not dancing can wait here or watch if they want." She pulled on Sidda's arm. "Here, look." Robin showed her a set of strange, dark mirrors on the wall next to a closed door.

"Um, it matches the furniture?" Sidda said, eyeing the mirrors.

Robin sighed and flicked the light switch so that the room was dark. Sidda blinked; the other room was still illuminated, and now they could see clearly into the room.

"Oh, wow, that is cool!" Sidda exclaimed. She opened the door and went into the studio. They were still working on painting the walls and cleaning up the floors, but it was easy to see what the studio would be like when it was finished. The windows looking into the studio were nice and large, and she leaned on one of the ledges to get a view. Just as great as the one in the waiting room.

"This almost makes me glad that I'm going to teach this crazy class," Sidda said with a laugh. "Though I wouldn't mind getting to have this studio to myself without having to agree to the class."

"You have to share it with other dance instructors too," Robin admonished Sidda. "You can't go all alpha on them and never let them in."

"Really? Why not?" Sidda grinned as Robin thwapped her on the side of the head. "Geez, Robin, always take everything so seriously."

Robin just shook her head. "All right, Sidda, break's over unless you feel like painting instead of taking out trash."

"That's a very tempting offer," Sidda said, surveying the dance studio again. "It doesn't smell as bad as trash, and I'll get to see more getting done." It was always a nice feeling to see a project you were working on get completed.

"Here." Robin tossed her a paint roller and pointed to a couple cans of paint. "It'll be a honey-beige tone. Sound ok?"

"It'll go well with the wood floors, I guess," Sidda said, going to pry the paint can. Well, it would once the floors had been varnished. But they would have to save that for last. Just then they both turned and glanced at the window-mirror as they heard voices and footsteps in the other room.

"Hold on, I'm gonna go see who that is," Robin said.

"All right. I'll be here, painting. And if it's the trash crew, you don't know where I am."

"Got it." Robin went back into the other room, then stopped in shock as she realized who the two men in front of her were. One was Alec…and the other…

"Seth?" It came out as a whisper-squeak. She froze, too surprised to do or say anything.

"Robin?" Besides being rather sandy still and tired, Seth looked worried. He probably hadn't expected Robin to freak out when he got home. His voice was all Robin needed though.

She flung herself forward and wrapped her arms around him. Robin buried her head in his shoulder, smelling the unusual scents of the Middle East mixed with Seth's normal smell. She felt her body tremble with relief, and much to her embarrassment, she started crying. She'd tried so hard not to think about him while he was gone that it was like all the thoughts she'd pushed away were suddenly flooding back, and she was only just now realizing what could have happened to him.

"Hey, hey, it's ok," Seth said, tilting her chin up. He frowned at her, trying to figure out why she was upset.

"I'm happy," Robin said, realizing what Seth needed. Seth smiled and kissed her deeply, and they both forgot for a moment that they were in a public place until Sidda came hurtling into the room.

"Seth! Oh my gosh, I thought it was you I heard!" Sidda ran up, and Seth turned and gave her a sheepish smile before hugging her.

"Hey, Sidda." As soon as Seth released Sidda from the hug she turned on Alec and hit his arm.

"You knew he was coming home! I can't believe you didn't tell me! I could've helped set it up!" Robin laughed and snuggled in closer to Seth as she watched Sidda beat up on Alec. Everything was back to normal and ok now. Robin sighed, feeling a huge wave of tension wash away from her.

"Ow, geez, Sidda, it was a surprise!" Alec shrunk away from Sidda and tried to grab her hands before she could hit him again.

"So, what've you been doing without me?" Seth asked, holding Robin from behind, his arms draped over her shoulders. Robin rested her head against his chest and shrugged.

"Nothing much. Joshua's gone on a cultural arts drive, which means all of us are supposed to be doing something like dance or art or—"

"Or room decorating," Seth interrupted, squeezing her tighter for a moment.

"Or that," Robin replied. She grinned at him. "Besides, that nothing much had been happening." Her eyes slid over to Sidda. "Except for this incident a couple weeks ago…"

"That isn't important," Sidda said, realizing where this conversation was going. She gave Robin a tight smile. "At all."

"I think it was important," Alec said.

"I don't know, it's news," Robin said. She wrapped her fingers around Seth's arms and pulled them tighter, as if she could lock his arms around her.

Seth cocked an eyebrow and pressed his cheek against Robin's. "And what is this elusive news?"

"Hey, your apartment misses you," Sidda said, "Don't you want to go visit it or something?" She raised her eyebrows and smiled suggestively.

Seth and Robin looked at each other, suddenly grinning. Seth tightened his grasp on her and put his mouth near her ear. "You know, I really, really like the sound of that." He twisted her around and pulled her closer, putting his hand on the back of her neck.

"You're doing a good job of avoiding this news, Sidda," Robin said, tossing a look at her friend, "But I think that might work."

"It's all yours," Alec said, "We'll watch the kid."

"We will?" Sidda asked, looking up at him.

Alec shrugged. "Yeah, we will."

"All right, but just for tonight," Robin said, "She'll need a bottle when you guys get her from day care." She looked up at Seth suspiciously. "Have you even seen her yet?"

Seth grinned at her. "Yes, I did, right before I came to see you."

"Daddy first, mine second?" Robin asked.

"Always yours, but I thought I could spend a little time with Taylor before spending the whole night with you," Seth said, running his fingers into his hair.

"And that is our cue to exit," Sidda said, taking Alec's hand, "Come on, you awful, hateful, secretive man."

Alec smirked as he let Sidda pull him away. "You like secrets."

"When I'm in on them!"

"So, how about that apartment?" Robin said, pressing herself into Seth's side. She reached up and pulled him down for a long, hard kiss that left them both breathless. "I really, _really_ missed you."

Seth laughed and the end sounded more like a growl. "Oh, I think I can say that the feeling was mutual."

"You ready for a wedding?" Robin asked, grinning at him.

"I'm ready for the wedding night. Right now," he said, tilting her head back for another kiss. They broke apart when they heard a loud, appreciative whistle. Dalton was leaning out of his practice room, a sloppy grin on his face.

"Wow, guys, get a room," he said. He relined back against the doorway and crossed his arms over his skinny chest.

"Grow up, Dalton," Robin said, shaking her head at him.

Seth smirked. "Hey, Anica was asking about you. She was in headquarters when I last saw her."

Dalton's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Really?"

That was all it took to get him skittering down the hall, the violin forgotten in the practice room. Robin turned back to Seth, amused. "Liar."

"Little lie," Seth said, tightening his arms around her, "She sort of asked about him. In passing. Now," he moved his hands down her waist, "How about that apartment?"

"I think that's a perfect idea," Robin said, moving her hip against his.

-----------------------------------------------

Logan landed a punch, another one, and a third on the decrepit, salvaged punching bag. It was triple-reinforced so his punches did not do much, but it was supposed to be for transgenics, not some weak human. He gritted his teeth and punched it again.

He was in Gatorade's gym, taking out his frustration on the punching bag, but it was only making him angrier. He was just inadequate, that was all. Nothing else. Max needed one of her own kind, not some weak, useless human like him that she couldn't even touch.

He saw the look in her eyes when she watched him; she actually wanted to protect him, her protect him instead of the other way around. Logan jabbed the punching bag again. That wasn't the way it was supposed to be. He was supposed to take care of her. That was his job, but he couldn't even touch her…

"Logan?"

Logan grabbed the punching bag and froze for a moment before hitting the bag with renewed force. "Do you need something, Max?"

He could feel her behind her, standing there, just watching. And possibly pitying. God, he hated pity.

"No, I was just worried about you," she said. She paused and for a minute there was only the sound of him hitting the punching bag. "Nine called and said that the tests came back negative."

"I was going to tell you," Logan admitted, turning his head away in embarrassment. He'd been hoping to have all the anger out before he went looking for Max. He supposed he should be grateful to Nine for knowing him better than he did.

"Hey, it's ok." Max attempted an indifferent shrug. "Nothing new, right?"

"Yeah, nothing new." Logan wiped his forehead. "I thought that those missions we sent everyone on… the people we brought back…I thought it would make a difference. I don't know what to do if it doesn't."

"It will, Logan." Max wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to fight the need to wrap her arms around him so that they could comfort each other. "These things always take time. But it'll happen."

Logan sometimes wondered why Max was with him when she had all the transgenic guys to pick from. Was it because she felt the need to help people? Maybe she wouldn't like him as much if he didn't need her. But… she had needed him when they first met. That was when things had felt right, when he had felt like he could start a relationship. Everything was so twisted now, no straightforward relationship roles like normal people got.

"Logan?"

Logan shook his head and then attempted a smile for her. "It just makes me wonder sometimes," he said. "Fate seems so against us sometimes."

"I think about that all the time too." Max gently nudged the punching bag and then looked at him. "But at the same time, it seems like it wants to help us too… all our friends do so much for us, we've found the scientists, we've come so far in everything…" Max smiled. "I think it'll be ok in the end. I really do."

Logan shook his head and laughed. "I don't think there's another transgenic who has as much optimism as you." He looked at her. "I think that's why they all look to you for leadership. You have the ability to dream of better things."

Max was practically blushing. "We all have dreams," she said. "It's just that for those who didn't escape, they had to keep their dreams buried so deep that they hardly knew what they were. Being a dreamer at Manticore got you hell-to-the-nowhere."

Logan frowned. "Yeah, I bet not." His pocket started buzzing, and Logan sighed and pulled it out. It was Nine. "One sec," he said, "Nine is calling."

"Logan?"

"Yep, it's me. What's up? Lab explode?"

He could practically hear Nine rolling her eyes. "Yeah, exactly. That's why I sound so calm."

"Well, what terrible disaster has happened then?"

"Not a disaster, it's…well, you should come down to the lab. Is Max with you?"

"Yeah, actually, she is."

"She'll want to come too, then," Nine said.

"You can't just tell me over the phone?" Logan asked.

"I know you guys will want to see this," Nine promised. "Just come on." Nine hung up with a click and Logan shrugged and looked at Max.

"Hear that?"

"Yep," Max said, "Don't know what she's up to, but I guess we better go. I have my motorcycle parked outside, what about you?" Unfortunately, the stupid virus made it impossible for them to ride on a motorcycle together."

"I've got mine out there too, I'll catch up to you at the infirmary."

Max always beat him with a motorcycle, mostly because he wasn't entirely comfortable with driving one yet. He preferred cars, but cars just weren't practical for simply getting around Terminal City unless he was carrying a bunch of stuff. Still, he'd managed to avoid getting a motorcycle until his friends had decided to gift him with one a month ago. So now he had to use it.

When he finally pulled up to the infirmary, Max was waiting outside of the lab entrance for him. "I figured that if Nine wanted us to come in together, that's what we'd do," she said. "It's not like she'd show me anything without you there anyway."

"So the point in racing ahead was…?"

"Pure fun," Max said, grinning at him.

When they entered the lab, everyone was acting very strangely. A few people seemed to be working, but they weren't really doing anything. They were just watching Logan and Max out of the corners of their eyes. Most of the lab workers had simply given up any pretense of working and were blatantly staring.

"I feel like a two-headed monster or something," Logan whispered.

Max cocked an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, by the way, welcome to the world of transgenics."

"Point taken." Logan and Max sat down on stools facing Nine at her workstation. It was obviously meant for them; microscopes had been set up at each stool, lab notes were carefully laid out, and she had her computer turned toward their seats.

"So," Logan said, glancing at the microscope. "What'd you find?"

Nine smiled. "All this is because I know you won't believe me. But I went back to look at the date, Logan. And one of the tests was mislabeled. It was positive."

Max and Logan stared at her for a moment, then Logan shook his head as if trying to rid himself of an annoying insect.

"Positive? Positive for what?"

Nine laughed. "Positive as in a positive match, Logan. We might have to do a few more tests to make sure it's not a fluke, but we may have found the Cure."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you to Marcus Sylenus, nattylovesu, Dark girl, Stargate fan and Kate for reviewing!!

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 6

For about a week and a half, the inhabitants of Terminal City did not get a glimpse of Max and Logan. After Adenine administered the Cure to Max and it actually worked, the two had disappeared into Max's apartment for some well-deserved alone time. Of course, without Max's hard-ass, no-nonsense, get-business done attitude, the transgenics got a little lazy, letting some tasks go neglected while the cultural center became the focus of everyone's energy.

When they had finally come out of hiding, Max and Logan had resumed their jobs with grace, but everyone was nervous about going into the office and finding them "getting busy," as Joshua liked to call it. It was a well-founded fear, they discovered when Gem walked in on them making out when she was submitting her cafeteria requisition sheets. No one blamed them, but it was a little disconcerting to see them always having "hand-sex," Syl's term for how they always seemed be holding hands and caressing each other's fingers and palms.

Max had swiftly gotten Terminal City back in line and started preparing to leave for the farm. Robin and Seth's wedding was the next week, the last week in August, and a lot of the higher personnel in Terminal City would be leaving for the farm. Mole had volunteered to stay behind as C.O. while they were gone, saying that he didn't need to go to the wedding to see a couple cats get married, but he wished them luck, of course. They'd need it.

Robin was helping Max get organized by putting her papers and things into designated folders. While Max and Logan had been on their holiday, she had redecorated Max's office, making it more user-friendly and Max-like at the same time. Now it was painted dark red with tasteful decorations, and the little gold figurine of Bast that Max liked so much was sitting on a table all on its own.

"What do you think she's planning?" Max asked. The transgenic leader was half-buried in a filing cabinet, putting things away.

Robin shrugged and pushed her hair back from her face. "Your guess is as good as mine. She wouldn't tell me anything." She threw a stack of papers onto the trash pile and turned back toward Max. "I mean, it's my party, shouldn't I know these things?"

Sidda was throwing Robin a bachelorette party tonight since this was supposed to be their last night in Seattle before the wedding party and guests left for the farm. Robin had tried everything to get Sidda to tell her what the party was, but Sidda had been a grinning, laughing iron wall of "No, I'm not telling."

"I don't see why we can't have a simple party out in the country," Max replied. She pulled herself away from the filing cabinet and shut the drawer. "Then I wouldn't have to worry about what Sidda may be bringing in for this…party."

"What exactly is a bachelorette party supposed to be like?" Robin asked. She stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and grabbed the pile of trash papers. She chunked them into the trash bin.

"I don't really know, I've never been to one," Max said, shrugging, "It's supposed to be fun, though. Sidda knows that."

"Yeah, but Sidda's idea of fun might not exactly line up with mine," Robin said. She could feel a headache coming on as she thought of possible parties Sidda may throw. Male strippers, too much alcohol, a thieving expedition? Blowing something up? Running from sector cops? Crashing a super-expensive rich party? Oh, anything was possible, and it was starting to make Robin panic that she could not get any information from either Sidda or Alec.

Alec knew about Sidda's plans, Robin was certain that he did even though both he and Sidda said that he didn't. Robin had tried to get it out of him by feeding him all of his favorites and then declaring she would never cook for him again if he didn't tell her what was going on, but it seemed like his Manticore training had prepared him for any kind of torture. She had not gotten anything out of him, much to her annoyance.

There was a knock on the door, three sharp taps. "Hey, Max, are you hiding the bride in there?"

"Door's unlocked, Sidda," Max called.

The door swung open, revealing Sidda, her short hair pulled back in a spiky ponytail. She walked in and looked at both of them. "You guys need to go get dressed."

Robin sighed. "And how are we supposed to get dressed?"

"All black, cat suits preferred. You'll want your boots," she said, grinning cheekily. When they both stared at her, she put her hands on her hips. "You don't think that this is going to be fun, do you?"

"I just wish I knew what we were doing," Robin replied. She finished straightening the few papers she was holding and handed them to Max. "I know you wouldn't plan something not fun, Sidda, but you're brand of fun can be a little…scary."

"Is it going to have any repercussions on the transgenic image?" Max asked, "If we're going to go surf on a train or steal a boat to go on a midnight cruise, I want to know."

Sidda put her hand to her chest, mock-offended. "Come on, you guys, you know me! If we were going to do anything dangerous, we'd be stealing a private jet."

"Not funny, Sidda," Robin said, shaking her head. She walked over and locked her arm through Sidda's. "Can't you just tell us?"

Sidda wriggled away from Robin and shook her head. "No way, this is a surprise." She patted Robin's cheek, which made Robin bat at her, aggravated. "You're going to have fun, I swear." She darted toward the door and disappeared down the hallway. Her voice trailed back to them, playful and teasing. "Be at 106 Cedar Street in thirty minutes!"

--------------------------------------

Robin wasn't sure what to think about the idea that she and three of her four bridesmaids were standing in one of the most run-down sections of Terminal City the night before leaving for the farm, all dressed in black sneak suits.

"So, are we robbing some random place to help pay for Robin's wedding?" Syl asked, picking at her suit.

"Doubt it," Max said. She was sitting on a rusted bench. "I'm pretty sure Sidda's trying to mislead us. If she'd wanted to go steal stuff, she probably would have stolen our sneak suits first and then brought them there."

"Yeah, you're probably right about that," Robins aid. She dug her toe against some of the loose asphalt that was on the ground. "Seth left at the same time I did, so I can't help but wonder if we are doing something with the guys." She looked up. "Did everyone else leave at the same time?"

"I haven't seen Dalton since lunch, so I don't know," Gem replied.

"Logan did," Max said.

Syl nodded. "I got a call from Krit letting me know that he was being dragged away by Alec, so he didn't know what time he'd get back." Syl shook her head. "That was all I got before Sidda grabbed the phone from me and hung up on him."

Robin laughed. "Poor Krit."

"Hey, there's Sidda," Gem said, moving away from the apartment they'd been hanging out next to. "She's carrying something big in a mysterious black bag."

"Hey, did you hear that Sidda?" Syl yelled down the street. "You hung up on poor Krit! He probably went and killed himself or something."

Sidda's laugh echoed back down the street. "As if you don't torture him daily with much worse, Syl." She blurred toward them and then dropped the cumbersome bag on the street. The other four women blinked as weapons spilled out of the bag, along with some sort of protective gear.

"Um, Sidda?" Robin asked. "I don't think Seth would be very happy if you got me shot before the wedding."

"Guys! Chill already. No one is getting hurt. We're not even leaving Terminal City, I swear." Everyone's shoulders visibly relaxed when Sidda said that. Sidda grabbed up one of the guns and tossed it to Robin. "Take a better look at that, gun expert." She started handing out the other equipment while Robin turned the gun over, taking Sidda's demand seriously.

"I don't get it," Robin said. "It obviously isn't meant to hold bullets, but… it's meant to hold something."

"Paintballs," Sidda said with satisfaction. "Which can be pretty painful as well, so I definitely suggest wearing the protective stuff."

"What's paintball?" Gem asked, slipping on a vest over her suit.

"It's amazing," Max said. Sidda looked at her, surprised that she knew anything about it. Max smiled as she buckled her helmet.

"I've been out here longer than you guys. I had fun every now and then."

"Well, I can certainly believe that now." Sidda winked at Max. Max blushed and busied herself with the rest of her gear.

"It's a game," Sidda explained. "Each team has different colored paintballs. You find a place to fight, and in the end you count up who got the most hits in to see who won… that is, if both teams have survivors. If you 'kill' all the members of the other team, well, there won't be a need to count points, will there?"

"How is someone killed?" Robin asked.

"Are the guys the other team?" Syl asked, a dark smile on her face. "'Cause I would so love that."

"Someone is killed if they get five minor shots, you know, limbs or something, or if they get a shot to the heart or stomach. No shooting heads in this game…those paintballs can actually do some damage. It'll cost us if you hit someone in the head." She tossed Syl an answering smirk. "And yes, we're fighting the guys."

"I knew you were conspiring with Alec!" Robin said. She looked down and surveyed her outfit. A little bulky but still easy to move in. She was starting to like the idea of battling it out with Seth and her other male friends…

"So, who is throwing an awesome bachelorette party?" Sidda swung an arm over Robin's shoulder and looked at Robin expectantly.

"All right, I give. You have pleasantly surprised me. I wasn't expecting to be this excited."

"Dork. I'm hurt you didn't trust me."

"Oh, hush." Robin moved away to grab her helmet as well. It was odd to wear one; transgenics hardly ever did since they were usually quick on their feet and rarely made fatal mistakes.

"It came with the guns," Sidda said with a shrug as if she was reading Robin's mind. "Alec didn't want to use them, but I told him we were going to because we weren't going to trust his team's aim." Sidda chuckled. "And of course, the best insult he could come up with in return was simply doing the same thing and wear helmets too."

"Men are so uncreative sometimes," Max said airily. She stretched out, enjoying the feel of her sneak suit against her skin. For her, it was like when Ordinaries wore a pair of particularly comfortable sweatpants. It fit her body just right, and in some ways was just as comfortable. And she knew Logan always found it sexy when she wore it.

Max winked at Sidda and finished her thought. "And they're so easy to manipulate at times."

"Seriously," Sidda said, tossing a grin back at Max. "So this game should be the easiest game we've ever won since we're up against an all male team."

"Let's not underestimate them," Gem said as she started loading her first round of paintballs into her gun, "They are supposed to be soldiers and everything."

"Well, technically Logan isn't," Robin said. "And Dalton's younger."

"And Krit's a complete nerd," Syl said. She ran her finger along the trigger of the gun and gave a positively vicious smile. "Which means he dies first."

"Maybe not," Sidda said, "I'm sort of putting my money on Dalton being the first one out."

Gem started to object then closed her mouth. "With his tendency to run into a situation without thinking, yeah, you may be right."

After the rest of the protective gear had been put on and everyone was familiar with their guns, Sidda flipped open her phone. Her fingers tapped quickly across the key pad. When the message was sent, she closed the phone and slid it into her back pocket. By now it was dark, almost pitch black in this unused part of Terminal City. She looked at the others, all of them now relying on night vision to see. "And so commences your bachelorette party, Robin. You're in charge."

Robin's grin was wide. "Let's split up, but stay in sight. They're probably expecting all to go off on our own. Max, you stick with me and Gem since you're not very practiced with guns. Syl and Sidda, go about six hundred feet to the right and follow our lead."

"Got it, boss," Syl said, mock-saluting Gem before she and Sidda took off into the darkness.

Robin's skin tingled with excitement as she, Max and Gem started moving, their guns at the ready, prepared to shoot any tall, muscular male body type that closed their paths. Her senses were on edge; she could every movement, how the old buildings creaked, the way the wind whistled through the rusting metal.

Her nose caught scents, but most of everything was covered by the overpowering, ever-present stench of biochemicals. Still, she tried to find the anomalies, the smell of transgenic males or even the rogue human scent that would be Logan.

She was so on edge, she was able to dodge the paintball that went whizzing towards her from an angle that led her to believe there was a sniper in the upper floors of one of these ruined buildings. Behind her, Gem let out a shout of anger as they raced for cover underneath one of the buildings.

"I'm hit," she grumbled. She held up her green paint-splattered fingers. There was a big green blob on her shoulder; not a shot that would take her out of the game, thankfully, but still a problem.

"You've still got four more shots to go through," Robin said.

She looked up at the window that she thought the shot had come from and saw moonlight glinting off something shiny. Logan's glasses. Robin gave Max an amused look. "I think your lover-boy is the sniper."

Max made a face. "Don't call him that." She leaned out to get a look at the window, and a paint ball almost hit her. It hit the ground instead and exploded, splashing their feet with specks of green paint. Max grinned. "Yep, that's him."

"How sweet," Gem said, "I love it when guys take shots at me."

"When you get a boyfriend, I'll let him know that," Sidda's voice said. She and Syl appeared out of the shadows and stepped into the group circle.

"What happened to separating?" Robin asked. Of course Sidda didn't follow her orders. Sidda never did, why did she even expect obedience?

"Better off as a strike force," Syl said, winking at them, "Besides, I can't let one of you take Krit out. That's my job."

Suddenly, Robin heard movement behind them, and as one, the group of women spun around. A _pwhhpp_ noise, the sound of the paintball gun being fired, was heard, and Syl started cussing. The team broke apart, all jumping and rolling away from their collective clump, and they started firing in the direction the paintball had come from.

"YES!" a male voice roared, leaping from the shadows and completely covered in bright blue paint splotches. Three more shots hit Krit in the chest and stomach, but he only laughed and continued to do a victory dance. "Dude, keep shooting, I don't care, I got Syl!"

"Suicide revenge attacks are not a part of the game!" Sidda said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I think it's sick that you were gunning for me," Syl said, glaring at the shooter. There was a single green splatter on the front of her vest, right over her heart. A great shot, but now the women's team was down one member. Time to get this game on their side.

Krit pulled off his helmet and beamed at Syl, completely reveling in his conquest. "Let me see, what did you just say? Oh, yeah, something along the lines of taking out Krit is my job?" He rubbed his chin and grinned. "I was just returning the favor, sweetheart."

"You're ridiculous!" Syl screeched. She launched herself at her mate, taking him to the ground and getting covered in the sticky blue paint anyways.

Robin looked at her teammates as Syl and Krit continued their wrestling match, Krit still laughing while Syl tried to pound his face in. "All right, I think we need to step it up. Split up, everyone go different ways. Take out any guy you see, no matter who he is, understand?"

"Totally," Sidda said, drumming her fingers across the gun at her waist. "And we have to win this, okay?"

Max's eyebrows knit together as she glanced over at Sidda. "You're betting against Alec on this, aren't you?"

Sidda grinned. "Maybe. And maybe there's a month's worth of free gas riding on the line that I'm willing to share with my winning teammates…"

Max looked at Robin and raised her gun, a dead-serious expression on her face. "She's right. We have to win."

Robin smirked. "I wasn't planning on losing."

"Then let's go kick some unsuspecting male ass," Gem said.

--------------------------------------------

This time they split up completely, each going in a different direction. Max had decided that she didn't like the advantages having a sniper gave the other team, so she was going after Logan. She knew which building he was in now, so it wouldn't be hard to sneak up on him. She doubted anyone was guarding his back; that would be too boring of a job.

She crept up the stairs, giving up a limb shot at Dalton on the way in order to preserve secrecy. Plus, from the way the kid wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, he would get taken out anyway.

Max went to the top floor, careful to put pressure on the door in just the right way so that it didn't squeak when she opened it. Luckily, Logan didn't have super sensitive hearing so she didn't have to be as fast as she would with one of the others. Not that she would ever tell Logan that. She heard a few more shots as she crept into the room, and then some shouting from down below. Logan snickered, giving away his position.

"Hey sniper boy!" Max called. She ducked as a paintball came whizzing toward her and splattered on the wall where her heart would have been. Damn, but Logan was fast. Max had her gun up and ready to fire, then hesitated for a fraction of a second as a long-ago memory of guns came to her…

She closed down the memory and fired, but she had been still too long. Even as her paintball hit Logan, his hit her. They were both dead-on.

"Teach me to talk before shooting," Max said ruefully. She was actually sort of glad Logan had got her; it would make him happy. She moved over to him. "We keep this up though, and we're gonna have to call it a truce. Everyone keeps killing each off in pairs."

Logan chuckled. "We can have the bride and groom have a shoot-off as a tie-breaker."

Max rolled her eyes. "If they're willing to shoot each other."

Logan wrapped his arms around her and breathed in the scent of her hair. It was pure pleasure to be able to touch her whenever he wanted to and show the world that she was his. "Why wouldn't they be?" he murmured. "I think it sounds like a blast."

"Yes, well, Seth is probably more gentlemanly than you," Max said.

"Now I'm hurt," Logan replied. "I used to be a man of an upper-class family, and now I'm less than someone who's been trained to kill since birth. I guess I've really fallen in the world."

"Get used to it," Max said. "'Cause you're not going anywhere for a while." Logan grinned and kissed her, and they forgot about the game for quite a while.

--------------------------------------------

"Crap, two shots left," Gem said, examining her arm. She and Sidda had ended up together on a street corner. Gem had gotten fired on by Seth, but she'd managed to ditch him. She'd had the disadvantage in the fight; he'd been in the second floor of a building.

"Yeah, Alec got me a good one too," Sidda said. "But I think he had to re-load his gun because he ran off suddenly. I lost him in one of these buildings."

They were currently in a doorway with a trash bin they'd dragged over in front of them. They'd evaluated the angle to make sure there weren't any snipers that could get there, and then had checked their own supply of paintballs. Sidda's was a lot lower than Gem's, so Gem had lent her some.

"Hey, look," Gem said, suddenly sitting up. Sidda turned and grinned as Dalton came sliding around the corner. He'd obviously been watching too may spy and action movies with Alec. His back was pressed to the wall and kept freezing and then sliding again, his eyes darting everywhere suspiciously. Every now and then he would stop and suddenly swing his gun around.

"Mind if I take him?" Gem asked.

"No problem, as long as you let me watch," Sidda said. She kept one eye on the nearby buildings though, in case one of Dalton's team members decided to use Dalton's antics to his advantage. Two of the women sitting in one place could be easy kills if one of the other guys got in the right position.

Gem shifted her gun to her shoulder and sighted along its length. "I think I'll tease him a little bit," Gem said. She released the trigger, then went into rapid-fire mode, taking out both of Dalton's legs in an instant, then his trigger arm.

Dalton, forgetting that he was in a game and not in a real battle, went down to his knees and brought up his gun to present less of a target. Unfortunately for him, Gem had anticipated this. She had shot all the areas that he was now trying to block from her. Gem took one more shot, getting another arm.

"Hey Dalton," Gem called out. "Do I need to keep shooting or have you already gotten hit by someone else?"

Dalton froze, and then he shot at them, splattering the trashcan with paint.

"I guess that means I need to keep shooting," Gem said with a laugh.

"Oh crap!" They looked above the trashcan to find Dalton frantically checking his pockets for more ammo.

"I'm glad I didn't count on Dalton for any shooting back in Italy," Sidda said with a laugh.

"Gem, Sidda…" Dalton's voice was slightly panicked. "You wouldn't want to shoot a guy when he was out of ammo, would you? That wouldn't be very fun or sporting."

"On the contrary, I think it'd be quite fun," Sidda said, winking at Gem.

"Killing a fourteen year-old boy who's never played paintball in his life and who doesn't have any ammo and is now totally debasing himself by asking you to spare him…. That would be terrible of you guys. Just horrendous."

Dalton was slowly moving toward the corner, but quickly stopped when Sidda fired at the wall right next to him.

"You're right, Sidda. This is way too much fun," Gem said, her smile wide.

"Aw, come on, guys!" Dalton said, "This totally sucks! Unfair! At least give me some more ammo."

"That isn't how it works, you little whiner," Sidda yelled, grinning at Gem. "Did you ever properly punish him for the Italy mission?"

"Besides completely destroying him in the boxing match at the gym and threatening him with certain death if he ever did it again?" Gem asked. "No, not really."

"This is your chance, then." Sidda handed her gun to Gem. "Make it count."

Gem's smile was almost feral in the moonlight as she stood up and slipped over the trashcan, both guns aimed at Dalton. He stared at her wide-eyed, his hands up.

"Come on, Gem, you can't do that!" Dalton said, backing up along the wall. "Just kill me with one gun."

"No way," Gem said, "You deserve this."

"Hell yeah, you do," Sidda chimed in. It was way too much fun to watch Dalton squirm and try to figure out how to get out of the situation. If she had been caught like that, Sidda probably would have taken advantage of how Gem was reveling in sweet revenge and rushed her, catching her off guard. But that was Sidda and her training, not Dalton and his inexperience.

Dalton glanced at the guns in Gem's hands. "At least don't shoot me in the—"

Dalton's cry of embarrassed, awful pain and the thump as he hit the ground were sounds of satisfaction for Sidda. Yeah, perhaps Gem had been brutal in her aiming, but that was Dalton's final lesson. Don't mess with women. They always got the upper hand, and you would sorely regret it when they won.

Victorious, Gem turned back to Sidda, the guns resting easily in her hands. She grinned at Sidda. "Mission accomplished."

"Very professional, Gem," Sidda said, jumping up from their hiding place and running over to high-five Gem.

However, their triumph didn't last long. Three _pwhhpp_s later, and Sidda was diving for cover again with one green splattered right arm and both guns in her hands while Gem's stomach was covered in green paint. Planting her hands on her hips, Gem swung around to face a very smug Alec who sauntered out of the shadows of one of the buildings.

Dalton glared up at him. "Took you long enough."

"Waiting for a window," Alec said, smirking and waving his gun toward Gem. "See? Maximum humiliation."

"Oh, shut up, Alec," Gem said, "Smug jerk."

"And proud of it," he said. "So, where did Sidda go?"

"Like I'd tell you."

"Behind that wall over there," Dalton said, pointing his empty gun in the direction Sidda had disappeared. Alec nodded while Gem walked over and popped Dalton in the back of the head.

"What was that for?" he asked, rubbing the place that was going to bruise.

Gem made a face at him. "For sucking up to him!"

"I wasn't!"

Alec left them fussing and went to track down Sidda. Well, this was going to be fun.

-------------------------------

Eventually, the last two people still alive in the game were the bride and groom. They had been stalking each other, taking shots that were meant to disable instead of kill. Robin was down four limbs now and so was Seth. The next shot would be the winning shot, no matter where it hit.

Seth and Robin had been running circles around each other the entire night, but Seth finally tracked Robin into one of the buildings and cornered her in one of the top level rooms. He trained his gun on her, prepared to shoot but suddenly her expression switched from game-face to let's-go-to-bed face.

"Robin, don't start that," he warned, not lowering the gun. He was determined to win now, he hated losing. Losing was not acceptable. Seth did not lose.

Robin kept her gun on him too, but she took a step forward, half-smiling at him. "But Seth, you don't want to shoot me now, do you?" She came right up to the barrel of his gun and reached out, her fingers sliding along his arm. Her eyes were brilliant as she looked at him. "You'd really shoot me?"

"It's just a game," he said, but he did not sound as certain as before. That moment of weakness was all Robin needed; a crack in Seth's wall of defense.

"Yeah, it is only a game," she said, moving forward so that Seth had to curve his arm to keep his gun trained on her. "So it's just for fun, right?"

"Right," Seth said, "So it doesn't matter who wins."

"But it'd mean a lot to me if I won," Robin said.

"I'd like to win, too," Seth replied, still not dropping his gun.

Robin sighed and ran her free hand down the front of his vest. "Then I guess you'll just have to shoot me." She rested her forehead on his chest, seeming to submit to him completely.

Seth started to pull the trigger then stopped, his gun aimed at Robin's side. He couldn't shoot her, not tonight or any other night. Damn it. There goes the game.

In his moment of hesitation, Robin pulled her gun back and shot him in the middle of the chest. A small huff of air escaped him; that was definitely going to bruise.

Before he could retaliate, she kissed him, her lips lingering on his. When she pulled away, smiling at him. "Thanks for letting me win."

"More like I fell for your tricks," he said, rolling his eyes. "But, like we agreed, it's just a game." He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her. "And it puts us one step closer to the wedding."

"Three days away now," Robin said. She kissed him on the cheek and then the lips. "I really can't wait."

"I'm looking forward to it too," Seth said, smirking down at her.

"Good. Wouldn't want my sacrificial groom to be unwilling."

Seth laughed and squeezed her tighter. "Unwilling? Never."

**A/N: There are now two videos for this story, one by me about Sidda and Alec and one by Stratagem about Robin and Seth. If you'd like to see them, the links are in my profile!! **


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you to Alexa, Sandra, X5 416, Marcus Sylenus, nattylovesu, and TwilightEclps for reviewing the last chapter!! It's really appreciated.

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 7

"Can I see? Pretty please? I just want to make sure…" Robin was standing outside the door to the kitchen, pressing herself desperately against the wood. She was trailing the oversized wedding dress that Max and Gem were trying to pin up despite Robin's inability to stay still.

"No, Robin, I promise it'll match your wedding color scheme thing," Sidda called from inside the kitchen. "I am not making a cake that looks like a gun or anything, though personally, I think that would be much cooler."

"When I told her she could make the cake I didn't think she wasn't going to show it to me," Robin said, looking at Max and Gem with distress.

Max gave an exasperated sigh as she accidentally poked herself with a pin. "Just trust her, Robin. You don't really have time to inspect cakes anyway."

"Especially since you're supposed to be having your dress fitted," Gem said, staring daggers at Robin.

Robin blushed and gave them a sheepish smile. "Sorry, guys." She glanced at the room she had anxiously torn out of when she'd heard that Sidda had started the cake decorating. "We can go back now…"

Gem shook her head. "Thanks, Robin."

"But I'm coming back after they're finished my dress!" Robin yelled through the door.

"And you're still not going to get in!" Sidda yelled back.

In the kitchen, everything was chaos. The cake-making had been the easy part of the whole thing. Now Sidda had four tiers to decorate, and though she wouldn't admit it to Robin, she was slightly nervous about it.

"_It's ok, icing is easy to redo_," Sidda told herself as she approached the first layer. But actually putting the icing on the cake seemed like such a big deal. What if Robin didn't like it in the end?  
_  
_"_She will, you know her better than almost anyone_…"

Of course, Sidda didn't really know what Robin's taste in cakes were, though she did know Robin liked chocolate and lemon cakes. Well, Robin wasn't getting the lemon, but Sidda had decided on a marble cake. Sidda had gotten some special cake icing from a local store as well, including some fondant for the base. That was going to be the trickiest part.

Syl was helping her in the kitchen, and she leaned her elbows on the counter to watch. "Dun dun dun."

"Oh, shut up," Sidda muttered. She carefully started placing the fondant around the first cake layer. It was actually a little easier to do than Sidda had initially expected. The plan was to put a ribbon around the base of each cake layer in the blue-gray color that Robin had her bridesmaids dressed in. Then Sidda would put a delicate spray of Chinese-type blue-gray flowers going around each layer of the cake.

"Robin's going to love it," Syl said encouragingly.

"She better," Sidda muttered, "'cause I'm not doing this again."

Bored with watching Sidda put the fondant on the cake, Syl moved over to where one of the sets of bride and groom dolls were laying on the counter. Sidda had picked up several so that she could decide which one she wanted to use when the time came. Syl took the Robin-doll and hit the Seth-doll over the head.

"Haha, you swore not to leave me until death do us apart, woohoo!" she said in a high-pitched voice. Then she went into a deeper voice. "No, no, nooooo….what have I done? Nooooooo!"

"Oh my gosh, please tell me you don't want a career in writing movie scripts," Sidda said.

Syl grinned at her. "What, you didn't like my impromptu playacting?"

"Totally unrealistic," Sidda said, "Those two hardly ever get in fights."

"True," Syl said, dropping the dolls back onto the table, "I don't know how they manage it."

"By not abusing each other as a source of enjoyment?" Sidda suggested. She laughed, "That scenario you just played out would probably fit you and Krit much, much better. If you ever got married."

"Doubt we will," Syl said, "No need to really."

"Yeah, same with me and Alec," Sidda said, amused at the very thought of needing to marry her mate, "But I bet Max and Logan will."

"Oh my gosh, yes. I bet he already has a ring."

"Maybe he's been saving it for when they were cured." Sidda glanced at Syl, who was just sitting on the counter and watching her. "Hey, grab some of that fondant and start on one of the middle layers. It's not that tricky."

"Ok, slave driver," Syl said, hopping down from the counter.

"What, would you rather go get stuck with pins like Gem and Max?"

"And be in the same room as the panicking bride who desperately wants to know what her cake looks like? No, thank you." Syl grimaced as she rolled the fondant around the cake. "I wonder what the guys are doing right now…"

"Don't know, don't care, as long as they stay away from the kitchen," Sidda said, "I don't trust them and their cavernous stomachs within fifty feet of my cake."

The two women actually finished the base layer and the ribbons within the hour, then took a short break to get lunch together and bring it to the other three women as well since Robin couldn't be allowed into the kitchen and Gem and Max were likely to be coerced into telling Robin what the cake looked like.

"Think it'll be ok to just leave them?" Sidda asked as she and Syl were leaving the kitchen.

Syl laughed. "You're becoming as paranoid as Robin, Sidda. What could possibly happen to them? We put covers over them, no rodents will get to the cake."

"I guess you're right," Sidda said.

They left, and a few minutes later Dalton came in.

"Hey guys?" Dalton looked around. "I'm kind of hungry…" He frowned at the empty kitchen. It figured that someone would be in there all morning, but when he finally wanted something to eat, no one was there. He opened the fridge and sighed as he looked at the contents. He had no idea what was meant for the party tomorrow and what was open to anyone to take. Maybe someone had left some food on the counter for anyone who was hungry?

--------------------------------------

"Hmm, those look even better than I thought they would," Robin said, walking in a circle around her four bridesmaid. They were standing in a line reminiscent of their childhood parade ground lines except they were not at attention, and they were all wearing long, elegant dresses. Sidda was fiddling with her sash while Gem tugged at the strapless upper line of her dress. Syl was trying to get the hang of her heels while Max stood calm and poised, the most at ease of all four of them.

"Did you think we were going to look ugly?" Syl asked. She scooted over in front of Max, teetering on her heels, and looked at herself in the mirror. She tugged at her long blond hair. "I mean, if that was the aim, you should've gotten us brown and orange dresses or something."

Robin smiled and reached over to adjust Gem's dress for her from the back. "No way, these are great. I'd rather everyone look good than have you all up there in junkyard dresses."

"Thanks…" Sidda said, rolling her eyes.

"Gem, quit it, it's fine," Robin said as Gem went back to tugging at the dress.

Gem sighed and pushed her hair back behind her ears. "Sorry, I'm just not all that comfortable in this thing. It feels like it's going to fall down at any minute."

"Well, it's not," Robin said. She reached open and rehooked the dress again. "That better?"

Gem let go of the dress and stood there for a moment. Finally, she nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Robin smiled at her friend. "You look gorgeous. That color is good on you."

"Really?" Gem said. It was true. The redhead looked fantastic in the blue-grey color Robin had put all of her bridesmaids in. Robin watched her for a moment as she smiled uncertainly at herself in the mirror. It was strange that Gem didn't have a guy, but she had a plan to remedy that. She had invited a guy from back in Terminal City, one of the newer X5s, who she thought would be a great match for her lively, rational friend. Not that she was going to tell Gem; she didn't want to be a matchmaker. But nudging them in the right direction never hurt, did it?

Sidda slipped out of the sleeveless, sleek dress and quickly put her own clothes back on. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got a cake to finish."

Robin whipped her head toward Sidda and her eyes widened. "You haven't finished it yet? It's that complicated?"

Sidda shrugged, a smirk spreading across her face. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"Sidda!"

"What?" Sidda asked, pulling on her t-shirt. "I'm not ruining this surprise for you."

"Wait for me," Syl said, "Don't leave me here with these people, they're obsessed with clothes!" She tottered after Sidda, completely off-balance in her heels. "Damn it." She reached down to take them off, but Max stopped her.

"You should probably keep them on and practice, Syl," Max said, grinning at her sister, "Wouldn't want you to trip tomorrow."

Syl stared after her and then tossed Sidda a look that was a Syl-version of "Help Me."

"Sorry, Syl, gotta check on the cakes," Sidda said, grinning, "Besides, you can distract Robin from trying to find out what the cakes are."She took off barefoot down the hallway, leaving Syl to fend off the others by herself.

"I hate her sometimes," Syl grumbled as she came back toward Max, unsteady and wobbly.

Robin was about to reply when she heard a high-pitched, enraged shriek. She looked at the other three before running out of the room, now able to move around freely since she had taken off her wedding dress earlier. Gem, Max and Syl followed, all of them still in their bridesmaids' dresses.

Syl clumped in front of Robin before Robin could go into the kitchen. "Wait, let me go in first."

That was not necessary though because the door burst open and Dalton blurred past them, screaming in actual, true terror. "She's going to kill me!" They heard as he rushed past, tearing through the house like hellhounds were on his heels.

A split second after he had passed by, Sidda erupted from the kitchen, a pair of long, dangerous kitchen knives glinting in her hands. She blurred past the others, following Dalton's scent in deadly silence.

"Oh, boy," Robin said, putting a hand to her face.

Syl peeked into the kitchen, assessed the situation and then confirmed what they had all guessed. "He ate part of the cake." She grinned at Robin. "Cake-making is totally more exciting than I thought it would be!" She raced off in the direction Dalton and Sidda had gone, hiking her dress up around her knees.

Gem pulled the skirts of her dress up. "He is so dead." She marched away too, a scowl on her face.

Max and Robin exchanged a look before heading after them, both prepared to handle the situation and bring back a sense of peace and harmony. Well, Robin would if the cake was salvageable. Otherwise, Dalton was going to be executed as a wedding present.

They found them on the porch on the back of the farm house. It seemed like Dalton had run straight for safety: aka, the groom. He was hiding behind Seth while the confused groom tried to fend off Sidda and her knives. Logan stood nearby, his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised. He looked at Max for an explanation, but she only smirked back at him. Ah, Dalton had committed some kind of wedding transgression.

"You are so cheap, Dalton!" Sidda shouted, "Hiding behind Seth, you weasel, wait until I get you!"

"Sidda, knives…" Seth said, keeping a careful distance away from her chosen weapons. She looked much too comfortable with those in her hands.

"It was just a cake, I didn't know it was important!" Dalton exclaimed. He frowned at her. "You shouldn't have left it on the counter!"

Sidda let out another shriek and shot herself at Dalton, blurring around Seth. Dalton darted away, scrambling down the porch steps. Sidda launched herself off the steps and landed in Dalton's path, cutting him off from escape.

Syl went to go after Dalton but then Robin grabbed her arm, her eyes sending out death glares. "Don't you dare jump off this porch in that dress or else I swear…" She could just picture Syl landing, heels tottering, then her stumbling onto the grass, ruining the dress forever with grass stains. She might be annoyed with Dalton for messing up the cake, but she would be a whole lot more annoyed with Sidda and Syl if it resulted in a bridesmaid's dress being ruined.

"Oh, whoops." Syl knew exactly why Robin was concerned. She ran back inside, dragging Gem with her.

Robin watched them for a moment and then put her hands over her eyes and yelled at Sidda. "Sidda, whatever he did, you can't actually kill him. I need him for the line-up tomorrow!"

"You can get a replacement!" Sidda yelled back. She was moving forward, pushing Dalton back against the porch. "Keep him around, and he'll probably mess up even more than the cake."

"I didn't know!" Dalton moaned. "I was hungry, it looked good…I didn't eat all of it," he added, looking at Robin pleadingly.

Syl and Gem came back out, and Gem reached over the porch railing, grabbed Dalton by the shoulders of his jacket and shirt. In an awesome display of transgenic strength, she hauled him up on the porch.

"I can't believe you ate a piece of the cake!" Gem said. "Did they forget a few brain cells when they made you?"

Sidda hopped over the porch railing to land behind Dalton. "No need to yell at him, Gem," Sidda said pleasantly. She spun one of the knives in her hand. "I'll just go ahead and dispatch of him."

Dalton looked anxiously from one to the other. "Um, I think I'll take the yelling," he said.

Robin sighed, and Seth pulled her close, trying to comfort her. "Care to explain what's going on?"

"Sidda, is the cake salvageable?" Robin asked.

Sidda paused to think for a moment. "I have enough to make the layer he ate again, but it's going to take a lot of time." She growled at Dalton. "And I have to make it, because he had to go and eat the third layer. Not the top one! Noooo, the pig couldn't eat the smallest layer."

"I didn't see the small one," Dalton said plaintively. He looked at Robin. "I'm really, really sorry, Robin. But I won't mess up anything else, I promise! Don't let her kill me…"

"I think messing things up and getting in trouble is part of your nature, Dalton." Syl crossed her arms as she stared at Dalton. "You can't exactly promise not to be yourself."

Alec and Krit, who had just arrived to investigate the screaming, were hanging around near the porch, watching the festivities as they unfolded but not getting involved in the situations. It was much, much too dangerous with the females acting the way they were.

"Damn, but they're sexy when they're mad," Alec whispered to Krit.

Krit chuckled and whispered back. "Yeah, as long as they're not mad at you."

Alec nodded. "I don't really envy Dalton at the moment."

Overhearing their conversation, Logan shook his head and leaned against the railing. "Non-interference is definitely the best policy with situations like these."

Dalton looked pretty helpless at the moment. He was surrounded by people who were annoyed with him, and he didn't really have anything to offer in exchange for his life.

"Well, we can't kill Dalton," Robin said, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She would be enraged too if he had been messing up the cake she'd been working on, but since it wasn't, she couldn't help but find the situation a little funny. Especially now that she knew Sidda could still get the cake done on time. "But I suppose we should still punish him in some sort of way."

"I think we should punish him by killing him," Sidda said, her eyes sparkling with anger. Max looked slightly alarmed at Sidda's suggestion, and Robin couldn't help but giggle.

"Ok, assuming that's not an option… do you want him as a kitchen slave?" That seemed like an appropriate punishment.

"So he can mess things up more?" Syl asked in disbelief. If Dalton was a moron enough to think that a beautifully-decorated cake was meant for immediate consumption, who knew what other mistakes he might make in the kitchen. Syl didn't trust hungry teenagers in there.

"Suuuuure," Sidda said in response to Robin, ignoring Syl's comment. "I'd just loooove to have him in the kitchen with me. Me and my sharp knives." Sidda could make some accidents of her own happen…

"Um, Robin, anything else I could do?" Dalton said. He tried to move behind Gem and away from Sidda, but Gem wasn't letting him get away that easily; she caught at his coat again and shoved him back in front of her. She thought he needed to sweat it out a bit more

Dalton glanced at Seth. "I was being helpful with the guys, wasn't I, Seth? I was helping put the tent up and the tables and chairs and all that stuff…."

"Yeah, but then you went and crossed the women," Seth said. He shook his head gravely. "That's a harsh offense. Especially lately, it seems."

Robin glanced at Sidda and then smiled. "You can go back to helping the guys, Dalton. But I suggest you stick with them from now I, because I'm not going to promise that Gem or Syl or Sidda won't come after you if you go off alone."

Sidda's grin was dangerous. "Hear that, Dalton? Go off alone, and you're mine. No repercussions."

"Though I would like him intact for the wedding," Robin said reprovingly. She was afraid of what Sidda would do if she didn't warn her against total revenge.

"You're so picky," Sidda muttered.

"Don't worry, Sidda, I'll see that he gets properly punished as well," Gem said, crossing her arms. "Because now that I think about it, I don't know if I have anyone lined up to do dinner back at Terminal City tomorrow night. Maybe I'll send Dalton back. He'll have to miss the party, of course…"

"Gem!" Dalton's eyes were wide. "Gem, you can't do that! It was a mistake!" He was getting annoyed now; dinner at the same table as Anica was on the line here. "Plus, you can't make me go back anyways. I'm my own boss."

"Oh, really?" Gem lifted an eyebrow. "Well, I guess that means you'll be making all your own meals from now on."

"You guys are so unfair," Dalton said angrily. "I didn't even eat the whole cake piece! I got full!"

"Oh, you got full, did you?" Sidda stalked a few steps towards him again. "Maybe that's because it was meant for more than one person!"

"You might as well have eaten the whole piece if you were so determined to get Sidda angry at you," Syl added. "It's not like she can use half a cake layer."

"Exactly," Sidda said.

"I didn't mean for anyone to get angry," Dalton said, "Come on, this sucks, it was an accident!"

"He has a point there," Seth said, trying to a voice of reason against the women's desire to torture the poor kid.

"He's going to have a point in his gut," Sidda growled.

Alec rolled his eyes and walked over to her, carefully avoiding the knives. "You don't want to kill him, Sidda. It'd be nasty."

"I've killed worse than him," she said, waving a knife at Dalton.

"I think I have a solution here," Max said, stepping forward and smiling viciously at Dalton.

Eventually, proper punishment was found, although Sidda was still favoring the bloodier approach. Dalton was going to have to wash all the dishes after the wedding dinner without help. There was a bit of grumbling on Dalton's part, but after a few more threats from the maid of honor, the bride and the bridesmaid, he agreed that it was a good, happy punishment that he would perform without any whining.

"Here's a lesson," Seth said after the women had disappeared into the house again, shutting the door against the men.

Dalton looked up at Seth with a puppy-dog expression, and Logan clapped him across the shoulders. "Don't touch anything at all when there's a wedding going on."

"And don't piss girls off," Alec said.

"Especially the blond ones," Krit added.

-----------------------------

The next day was wonderfully sunny and pleasantly warm. Everyone who could get away from T.C. for the event was there, sitting intermingled on the two sides of the makeshift aisle in whatever good clothes they had been able to scrounge up. The chairs were mismatched, but no one could really tell since Robin had had them all covered with white cloths. All stolen, of course.

White and blue-gray flowers were spread out in tasteful arrangements around the yard where the wedding was taking place. There was even an arch for Seth and Robin to stand over; it had been decorated with sprays of flowers. The whole site was elegant and beautiful, perfect for the occasion.

Seth stood at the front of the church, his hands clasped together. Beside him, the preacher that they had enlisted from the local community was flipping through his Bible, an easy-going expression on his face. They had thought that they were going to have to hire someone or use an army-provided chaplain, but this guy had been available, and after letting him know that someone from Psy-Ops would erase his memory about the location of the farm, he had come willingly, even eagerly. He glanced over his glasses at Seth.

"There's nothing to be nervous about," he said.

Seth glanced at him and then turned his gaze back to the aisle. "I'm not nervous."

The preacher smiled and closed the Bible. "You're getting married and you're not nervous? They certainly made you well, then." He patted the Bible and held it down by his side. "I've seen your bride. You certainly are a lucky man."

A smile darted across Seth's face. "I know."

The preacher laughed. "Good. Because you're about to enter a very interesting time in your life."

Seth turned toward the preacher. "And how's that?"

"You're about to make vows that are for an eternity," the preacher said, "Ones that can't be easily broken. This isn't some frivolous ceremony, you know that, correct?"

"Yes," Seth said with certainty, "But it's going to be like it was before…"

"And even more," the preacher said. "I hope you're in love with this woman. After this ceremony, you're going to hers and she'll be yours."

Seth let out a sigh and relaxed. "That's already how it is for us."

The preacher nodded as the music started, provided by a small band of musically-talented transgenics. "I'm glad to hear it."

Alec slid up beside Seth, smirking at the other transgenic who was questioning him with his eyes. "Everything's cool," Alec said, "Robin ran away, but Max and Sidda tackled her before she could get very far. Just don't stare at her black eye or the hole in her dress."

"You're hilarious."

Alec grinned and opened his hand, revealing a pair of soft, golden rings. "I told you they caught her."

Seth picked them up and put them in his own pocket, laughing at his best man's stupid jokes. Like Robin would ever endanger her wedding dress.

The procession started, Gem and Dalton leading the way. Gem was gorgeous, and the kid actually managed to look older in his black suit with his blue-gray tie that matched the bridesmaid dresses. It had already been pretty much decided that these outfits would be used whenever someone wanted to get married. Well, all of the outfits except for Robin's wedding dress. No one wanted to ask her to give it up, not with how much she had fretted and worried over it.

After Gem and Dalton took their places, Krit and Syl walked slowly down the aisle, Syl leaning heavily on Krit and taking very careful steps. Syl was not teetering around, but she was pausing between every couple steps. Krit looked up Seth with an apologetic smile, and Seth shrugged. At least Syl had not completely discarded the nice shoes Robin had stolen for her.

Max and Logan made quite a sight as they appeared and came down the aisle, their arms linked. Both were striking and comfortable in their wedding attire, and the smile Max was wearing made everyone calmer. When Max was happy, everyone else could be happy too.

The next one down the aisle was Sidda with Taylor in her arms. Robin and Seth's baby girl was decked out in a fluffy blue dress that matched the color of the bridesmaids and made her look like a little princess, complete with a tiara of tiny white flowers. Instead of throwing the flowers, she clung to Sidda and held a fistful of rose petals in her hand, attempting to eat them while Sidda tried to stop her.

About halfway down the aisle, Taylor dropped the rose petals and grabbed for Sidda's hair instead. Luckily, Sidda's hair was short and pulled back with white clips, but she had to resituate to keep her hold on Taylor. She tossed the bouquet she was carrying to Alec, who made a face and put them behind his back. She took her place and winked at Seth before they both looked at the end of the aisle again.

"If everyone would stand," the preacher said, motioning with his hands to rise. The transgenics rose as one and turned to face the aisle.

Robin was a vision in white as she appeared from the house, her arm lightly resting on Joshua's. The tall transhuman was beaming, completely happy with his role as the bride's escort. They walked across the yard and then started down the aisle, the music switching from a processional to a song Robin had picked out for this moment. It was gentle and soft, more like her and Seth's relationship than the previous song. Robin loved this song and she knew that Seth did too.

She smiled to herself and held her bouquet of flowers tighter. It was white with a few blue flowers stuck in there. Her pure white dress was classily decorated with a few flower designs that were reminiscent of the flowers she was holding in her hands. Everything about her was flowing and beautiful, like something Seth had dreamed instead of reality.

Robin glided across the grass, each step graceful and measured. Joshua did not hunch as he led her down the aisle, and he tried to keep a serious expression on his face. Robin peeked up at him and squeezed his hand before looking forward again. Her heart pounded against her chest as she looked at Seth. He was her mate and now he was going to be her husband; she had to be the luckiest woman in Terminal City, probably in all of Seattle. Who could be better than Seth?

As they approached the archway, the preacher smiled and looked at Joshua. "And who gives this woman in marriage?"

Joshua grinned and raised his hand. "I do!"

There was a whisper of good-natured laughter at Joshua's excitement. When the preacher nodded, Joshua hugged Robin and took his seat while she went to stand in front of Seth, handing her flowers back to Sidda. Seth automatically took Robin's hands in his and squeezed them, transferring some of his calm to her.

Everyone seemed to disappear, and it was just the two of them standing there, looking at each other. The preacher started the ceremony, saying words that neither of them listened to as they just watched each other, ridiculously happy just to be there.

They reached the vows, and there was silence as they repeated them to each other, everyone listening to what they were saying.

Seth did not take his eyes off of Robin for a second as he said his vows to her, his eyes resting on hers with contentment.

"I, Seth, take you, Robin, to be my wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness and love."

Robin grinned and repeated after the preacher even though she had memorized all the words long ago.

"I, Robin, take you, Seth, to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness and love."

Seth rubbed his thumbs across the backs of Robin's hands as the preacher asked for the rings. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the two golden bands. He gave Robin the one for him but kept hers in his hand.

"These rings symbolize a never-ending bond between you," the preacher said, "Every time you see this ring, you will think of each other and your love." The preacher smiled at the two of them. "But it's okay if you lose the rings down the drain or something, you'll still have your love."

Seth laughed, but Robin gave the preacher a brief deadly look. The preacher cleared his throat and continued quickly. They exchanged rings, Robin putting Seth's onto his hand before he slipped hers onto her ring finger, holding her hand lightly in his.

When the rings had been exchanged, the preacher had them turn around toward the crowd. They released one hand and turned toward the crowd, but they kept their eyes on each other, unable to look away. "And now," the preacher said, "I can proudly pronounce to you as husband and wife!"

Everyone burst into cheers and whistled as Seth grabbed Robin and pulled her into his arms, one hand wrapping around her waist as the other went behind her neck. She clasped both hands behind his neck as he smiled at her. They paused there for a second, just reveling in the moment, before Syl let out a shout.

"KISS ALREADY!"

They laughed and then kissed, their lips meeting for a kiss that could have lasted for 7.42 minutes since they could both hold their breath that long. It was a long kiss, but not that long or the crowd would have never let them forget it. When they broke apart, both were grinning and Robin started laughing, a few happy tears escaping her eyes. Music started playing again and Seth led her down the aisle, eventually picking her up and carrying her the rest of the way.

"Dinner at the tents!" Alec shouted, and there was a wild rush to get out of the seats and to the tents.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you to nattylovesu, TwilightEclps, S a i r a h i n i e l, Winchester girl, Kay and Marcus Sylenus! I appreciate the thoughtfulness and time you guys put into the reviews; thanks, thanks, thanks!!

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 8

The wedding reception was ridiculous. With Robin and Gem on the planning end of it, everyone knew that the food would be good, and that there would be lots of it. In order to be fair, they had even made enough for some of the transgenics who had only come for the wedding to take back to those who had stayed back at Terminal City.

There were the normal things such as platters of fruit and cheeses and crackers. Then there were miniature quiches, grilled chicken kabobs, pita bread and bruschetta, plates of small sandwiches, potato salad and pasta salad. Robin had tried to take general food that she knew everyone liked and add a little flair to it for the sake of the wedding. Most of the stuff had been made either last night or earlier in the day, and then a few of their friends had volunteered to cook some of it during the wedding ceremony.

Sidda had known how much food Robin was planning on, but she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows when she saw the loaded buffet.

"My cake not enough?" Sidda asked.

"Well, I wasn't sure…" Robin teased her friend. Then she hugged her while Sidda glared. "Oh, you goof, I made sure your cake had a table all to itself. It's the crowning glory. Speaking of which…"

Robin turned, her eyes searching for the not-yet-seen cake. And then she found it.

"Oh my gosh, Sidda, it's perfect!" Forgetting about the receiving line that she was supposed to be a part of, she rushed over to give the cake a closer examination. "It looks just like some high-priced chef made it."

"Well, that was the goal," Sidda said proudly. She had followed Robin over to the table since all she had heard was 'oh my gosh' before Robin had started running; she wasn't sure if Robin had said that because she loved it or hated it. "So do you like the design?"

"Yes, it's amazing," Robin said happily. "It matches the wedding colors, and the flowers are perfect…" she bent closer again and whistled. "You could so some serious business with a talent like that, Sidda. Most cakes like this can cost hundreds of dollars."

"Yeah, well, after that Dalton incident I think I'll retire from cake-making for a while." She glanced at the end of the tent where several of their friends were milling about, waiting to say hi to Robin and congratulate her and Seth.

"Come on," Sidda said, pulling her friend away. "You've properly appreciated my cake, and now it's time to go play hostess."

"Got it." Robin turned and hugged Sidda again. "Thanks!" Then she ran off.

The rest of the evening was a whirl of dancing and transgenics attempting to get drunk. There was a lot of speculation about those who hadn't done much drinking yet; everyone was still curious to find out if anyone could get properly drunk yet. But, unfortunately, everyone who tried barely even showed signs of getting tipsy. So far Manticore engineering was holding true, much to Robin's relief.

That night, most everyone stayed either in the farmhouse or in one of the rough cabins that they had spent a lot of time building all over the property. While Sidda took Taylor to her and Alec's cabin, Seth and Robin were going to walk to the most remote cabin, up in the woods by the small creek that ran through the property. They had been offered an ATV, but they insisted that they would rather walk. They did not have time for a real honeymoon, but everyone was going to clear out of the farmhouse tomorrow and leave Seth and Robin the farm for a couple of days. Sidda and Alec would take care of Taylor until Robin and Seth returned to Terminal City.

"It's funny how exciting a wedding makes this," Robin said, coming out of the room that had been taken over by the bride and bridesmaids earlier in the day. She had switched into a white summer dress for the walk up to the cabin with Seth.

"You should see what heat does," Sidda said, rolling her eyes.

Robin laughed and took Taylor from Sidda's arms so that she could kiss the little girl's forehead. "Hmmm, yeah, I bet." She handed Taylor back to Sidda. "Call tomorrow afternoon and let me know everything's ok?"

Sidda smirked. "What, not tomorrow morning? Or tomorrow night?"

"Oh hush and get going already," Robin scolded.

"Hey, you're the one that better get going," Sidda said. "My cabin's one of the closest. Yours is the farthest, remember?"

Robin rolled her eyes but still left, and Sidda went to the cabin she and Alec were sharing, walking past some of the tents that had been set up in the yard.

It was strange to have responsibility over Taylor for so long. It made Sidda think about what it would be like to have a baby of her own. She thought she would probably want a boy; she adored Taylor, but she was not sure she would know what to do with a little girl who wanted to dress up and play dolls. Not that her own little girl would probably do that.

"Hey, baby," Alec said, taking Taylor from Sidda's arms as soon as Sidda got in the door. He lay back in the bed and jiggled Taylor so that she giggled at him. "Long day, wasn't it?"

"And I thought you were talking to me for a second," Sidda said, smiling at him. It was unfair how easy Alec had it with babies; they always seemed to take to him. Well, most did. There were a few that would immediately start bawling when Alec tried to hold them, something that always cracked Sidda up.

Sidda laid down on the bed beside Alec and let Taylor clutch one of her fingers.

"If only all babies were as well-behaved as her," she said.

"Oh, come on. You'd seriously want a well-behaved baby?"

Sidda laughed and nudged Alec with her shoulder. "Just because my kids will probably be demonic doesn't mean I can't dream."

Alec shook his head and then got up to put Taylor into her cradle. He got back in the bed and fell asleep, his hand resting on her arm. Sidda nestled closer to him, wondering why she all of the sudden felt lonely and worried.

Maybe it was because she and Alec had never talked about kids… there was an unspoken agreement between them, but Sidda wasn't always sure of the terms of that agreement. Did Alec think of them in the same forever sort of way that Sidda did? Did he want a family one day, or was she just a girlfriend that he liked at the moment?

Alec sighed in his sleep and shifted so that his arm tightened around her, pulling Sidda in close. Sidda smiled. The future didn't matter right now. Those questions could come later. For now, she was going to sleep. Even though Taylor wasn't a fussy baby, she was an early riser. Robin had warned her that she'd whimpering for her a bottle around 5am.

----------------------

When they were back in T.C. few days later, Sidda anxiously watched the clock, wondering when Robin would get back. As soon as Robin was back, Sidda planned to go to the infirmary, hopefully to return before Alec got back from Headquarters. She didn't want him worrying about anything, but she had felt strange ever since the wedding.

The morning after Robin's wedding, Sidda had woken up extremely tired, and the fatigue had pretty much continued since then. Her appetite was all wacky; instead of being hungry for normal proportions at regularly scheduled meals she found herself starving at times and then totally uninterested in food at others.

This morning she had found that her temperature had gone up slightly, and it was just enough that Sidda decided to get herself checked out. She did not think it was anything to worry about, but she would rather make sure. It was just so unusual for a transgenic's usual health patterns to change that much since they rarely got sick.

"So, Taylor, your mommy's coming back. You excited?" Sidda looked down at Taylor to find the infant looking up at her with a look that practically said, 'I'm not an idiot. Please act like a grown-up about this.'

Sidda sighed. "Okay, creepy genius baby, don't be excited." Taylor looked away from her and started rolling around one of toys as if she couldn't be bothered with Sidda's conversation.

"Wow, the baby's dissing me…" Sidda shook her head and went to the kitchen to pack Taylor's bottle so that she did not forget about it when Robin got there. Just then, she heard the sound of a motorcycle turning off and then a pair of very familiar voices outside the window. She hurried to the window and opened it.

"Took you long enough!" she yelled out.

"Oh, come on, as if Taylor's that hard to take care of," Robin called back. She had a huge grin on her face. "I'll be there in a sec!" she said before she and Seth disappeared into the building.

"Hey, genius baby, your mom and dad are back," Sidda said, heading back into the living room. Taylor was on her stomach, still playing with one of the soft, squishy toys that Robin had left for her. She glanced up at and smiled at Sidda as if she had understood and then went back to gnawing on the plastic edge of the toy. Maybe she was teething.

A few moments later, there was a knock on the door. "It's open!" Sidda shouted. She scooped Taylor off of her blanket and fluffed the baby's downy hair. "You could at least be a little more excited, Taylor."

Robin and Seth came through the door, all smiles and exuding a very relaxed, positive vibe that filled the room instantly.

"Hey, Sidda," Seth said while Robin's attention immediately zoomed in on the baby. She swept her up and out of Sidda's arms in a matter of seconds and started cooing to her.

"There's mommy's beautiful girl! Did you miss me, sweetheart?" Robin exclaimed, cuddling her daughter.

Sidda raised an eyebrow as she walked toward Seth. "If I ever get like that, smack me."

"No way," Seth said, laughing, "You might feel differently after you get your own."

Sidda let out a sarcastic laugh. "That's not going to be any time soon, Seth. Thankfully."

"It's not so bad, Sidda," Seth replied, tossing a lazy smile at Robin. Sidda grinned to herself. My, my, they were quite the happy couple right now, weren't they? "What's been going on in T.C.?"

"Second mission team left yesterday for Canada," she replied. When he glanced at her, she held up her hands. "Something about a sub-atomic reactor, I'm not sure. Sort of a secret. They're supposed to be disabling it."

"Who went?" Seth asked, turning toward her as Robin walked back over to them, her need for alone time with her baby satiated.

"Let's see, Denali, Leslie, Nero, Uzi, Rhiannon, Jimmy and Lexington," she said, listing the names of the transgenics easily. "It's not supposed to be that hard of a mission, and they should be back in a couple weeks as long as they don't run into any snags."

"Sounds like a good team," Robin said, nodding, "Is Lex leading?"

"Yep," Sidda said, "He wanted to get out of Terminal City for a while."

"I'd want to get out T.C. too if some other alpha knocked me unconscious," Seth said, smirking at Sidda.

She rolled her eyes and shoved him in the shoulder. "Shut up." Irrational irritation suddenly spiked even though Sidda tried to fight it. She frowned at her friends. "Don't you guys have better things to do than harass me?"

"Yeah, but harassing you is fun," Robin said, beaming.

Sidda made a face. Oh, that mini-honeymoon had not been good for Robin. "Go home and play house. That's what you two are good at." Too much uncalled for vehemence.

"Geez, grumpy Sidda," Robin said. Seth took Taylor from her and nestled her into the crook of his arm. Robin looked at her friend, her eyebrows coming together. "Are you okay?"

Sidda waved her off, nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." When the two of them looked at each other with obvious concern, Sidda's aggravation level peaked. "Out, newlyweds!" She shooed them out of the apartment, waving her hands at them. Grabbing Taylor's bag from the counter, she tossed it to Seth. "I'll see you later."

"Dinner at our place?" Robin asked, attempting to get a smile from Sidda.

"Sure, fine, whatever," Sidda said, stepping out of the apartment after them. "See you then. I'm going out." Without further explanation, she headed toward garage where her motorcycle was, leaving Seth and Robin confused in her wake.

---------------------------

The moment she stepped through the door, Sidda felt like fleeing again. She despised the infirmary, and she had only been there a couple times for her own injuries since coming to T.C. back in May. Hesitating, she stayed near the front door, not wanting to go any further.

There were two transgenics standing behind the front desk, and they were chatting to each other. One was an X5 guy, Jericho, if she remembered his name correctly, and a woman, Sibil, the transgenic female who was the co-commander of this place with Gray. Sidda considered darting out of the door before she was noticed, but Sibil glanced up and saw her. Dang it.

"Sidda? Are you hurt? Do you need something?" She walked out from behind the counter, her sneakered feet squeaking on the tiles.

Sidda swallowed her fear and turned to face the other transgenic, looking up at Sibil. "I'm not hurt, I don't think. I'm just…not…" She sighed and resisted the urge to put a hand to her aching forehead. "I don't know exactly what I am right now."

Sibil nodded. "All right, well, we'll go from there." She turned back and smiled at the male X5. "We'll be in Exam 2, Jericho."

"Got it!" Jericho exclaimed. He smiled at Sidda, and Sidda forced a smile back as she followed Sibil into a place from her nightmares: an exam room.

"Hop up on the table, and we'll figure out what's going on," Sibil said, patting the paper-covered table. Sidda took a deep breath and stepped on a stool to sit down on the edge of the table while Sibil sat down in a chair across from her. "So, what exactly is wrong?"

Sidda went through her list of symptoms hesitantly while she looked around the room, assessing possible escape options and chalking it up to her escapist-training. When Sidda was finished, Sibil stood up and headed toward the counter where she opened a drawer and picked up some things, one of them being an empty hypodermic needle. Sidda's gaze immediately shifted toward the door, Escape Option Alpha. Sibil was slower than her, she could make it.

"And you missed your last period, correct?" Sibil asked.

"Yeah, so I'm thinking I'm pretty messed up," Sidda said, shoving her thick blond hair back from her face, "Maybe something like a killer flu…"

"Sidda, you were in heat a few weeks ago, right?"

Sidda blushed and looked toward the door again. Couldn't they just go ahead and tell her she was dying so she could leave and end out her days in peace? "Yeah, that's right."

Sibil walked up to Sidda and extended her hand. "I think I might know what's going on. I'm going to do a simple blood test. It should only take about forty minutes since we have improved technology." Sibil tilted her head to the side. "Are you feeling all right? You're rather pale."

"Is this test going to prove something important?" Sidda asked, her eyes on the needle. Already she felt weak, as if the blood was draining from her extremities. Ridiculous fear of needles.

Sibil nodded. "Of course, otherwise I wouldn't run it."

"Is the needle part really necessary?"

Sibil sighed. "Yes, it is. It's a blood test, so I need more than a pinprick of blood."

Sidda bowed her head and then slowly extended her arm toward Sibil. "Fine. Go ahead, but I'm going to warn you, I'm not good with needles. At all."

Sibil smiled, obviously thinking that this was the normal transgenic fear of needles. "It'll be over shortly," she promised. She wiped the area she was going to draw some blood from with antiseptic, leaving a cold spot on Sidda's arm.

Sidda shuddered as the needle tip touched her arm. Without realizing it, she swayed backward slightly.

"Sidda, can you sit still for just a few minutes please?"

"Umm, maybe it would be better if I lay down while you did the test," Sidda said. She did not want to add that that way the doctor could still finish the test even if she fainted. If she had to suffer through the test, she wanted to make sure she only had to once.

Sibil eyed Sidda speculatively. "You really don't do well with needles."

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Sidda said sarcastically. She tried not to hate the doctor; after all, Sidda had volunteered herself for this torture.

Sibil adjusted the bed so that Sidda could lean back a little without lying all the way down, then she waited until Sidda was looking away to bring the needle up to Sidda's arm. Sidda could still feel it though. She felt extremely lightheaded and slightly dizzy, especially once the needle was in. She wanted to clench her fingers, but she did not really feel like she had any muscle control. Her vision seemed to be narrowing… there were strange dark spots, and it was like she was looking down a long tunnel….

And then the needle was gone. Sidda breathed deeply and closed her eyes for a moment, allowing her body to reorient itself.

"Please tell me you got what you needed," Sidda said.

"Yes, I did. If you'd like, you can just lay here until the test is finished. The clinic is pretty empty today, so it won't matter if you take up space."

"That would be nice," Sidda replied. If they had wanted to move her, the burden would have been on them. She certainly was not doing any walking in the next few minutes.

As the doctor left the room, Sidda closed her eyes and willed fervently that whatever death she was going to die would not be too painful or prolonged.

"Sidda? Sidda? Are you awake?"

Sidda opened her eyes and stared for a second at a beaming Sibil. Good news? Why would her death be good news for Sibil? She had had no idea the woman had such a grudge against her.

"Wonderful news," Sibil said, smiling, "According to the test, you're four weeks pregnant."

This time Sidda did pass out.

When she came too again a few seconds later, Sibil was anxiously checking her vital signs with two fingers pressed to Sidda's wrist. "Are you still feeling bad from the needle?" she asked anxiously.

"Um, no, definitely not," Sidda said, "I think I just misheard you."

"You're pregnant," Sibil said. Again with the smiling thing. What a creepy bitch.

"Crap, I was afraid that was what you said." Sidda slapped a hand to her forehead. "This is not good."

"Why not?" Sibil was very confused.

"Because this is me!" Sidda said. She pulled herself to a straighter sitting position. "I can't…Alec wouldn't…I don't know…" She stopped and grabbed Sibil's arms. "You can't tell anyone! Doctor-patient confidentiality!"

"I know that," Sibil frowned, offended. "But why are you upset about this? Everyone is always so thrilled to hear they're pregnant."

"Well, I'm not," Sidda said, "And you and the rest of this staff better not tell anyone else. I need time."

"Well, of course, but you _will_ start showing in a couple months…"

"Damn it!" Sidda looked at Sibil again. In normal circumstances, she would have felt bad about how she was treating the woman, but these were not normal circumstances. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"You're sure the test was right?" Sidda asked. "It wasn't just a super killer flu or something like that?"

"I'm absolutely sure," Sibil said. "Blood tests are absolutely positive. You can see the results here." Sibil pulled a sheet out from the folder she was holding, and Sidda grabbed it up eagerly.

"You didn't mix my blood up with someone else's?" Sidda asked, her eyes roving over the sheet and not making much sense of it except the little black notion at the bottom that declared 'pregnancy present'.

"No, no one else is getting a blood test in the infirmary right now; a mix-up would have been impossible." Sibil said. "Look, do you want me to call someone?"

"What part of 'don't tell anyone' do you not understand?" Sidda asked. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Please, please don't call anyone."

"Okay, okay," Sibil said, holding up her hands. She sat down in the chair across from Sidda again and watched her uncertainly. "Sidda, if you don't want the baby, there are things we could do, steps we could take."

Sidda raised her head and stared at Sibil. Her eyes widened when she realized what she was implying. "God, no," Sidda said, shaking her head, shock on her face, "No, I just…I need to think." Her head was aching; this was too much for her to process right now. A baby? Her baby? And Alec's… No way. What the hell was she going to tell Alec? Or not tell him…

Sibil nodded. This was probably the strangest reaction to pregnancy news that she had come across yet. She stood up and walked over to the table Sidda was sitting on. "Sidda, if you don't mind, I'm going to go ahead and give you your first prenatal exam, if you're okay with it."

Sidda jumped off the table. She wobbled for a brief second but regained her balance, shaking her head. "No, um, can we do it some other time?"

Sighing, Sibil crossed her arms over her chest. "I suppose, since you're obviously uncomfortable, but you need to come back in as soon as possible. Pregnancy affects all transgenic women differently, so we like to give all expecting mothers a thorough first exam so we can make a plan for them and try to estimate things like complications. You can bring Alec if you'd—"

"Okay, okay, that's fine," Sidda said, cutting her off as she headed for the door, "Just, don't tell anyone yet, all right? No one on the staff, and especially not Seth."

"I'm not going to tell anyone, but, Sidda, don't you think you're exaggerating this just a little?" Sibil asked, "It's not like it's the end of the world."

Sidda paused at the doorway, her hand resting on the doorjamb. "I'll get back to you on that."

--------------------------------

Shit, shit, shit. Sidda fed her street bike more gas, tearing through the streets of a twilight-cast Seattle. The sun was setting, the shadows were growing and everything was cool and crisp. It had just rained, and the grey haze was stubbornly sticking to the sky, like always. Sidda's cherry red Ducati roared around a tight curve, almost slipping out from under her as she leaned into the turn for maximum speed.

A kid? Really? Now? Sidda blazed down the street, everything blurring together as she passed. Most of her mind was focused on the road like it should be, but another, smaller portion managed to drag itself back into that mental loop she kept playing. Manticore should have made her less of a multi-tasker. It would have made life a lot easier when it came to getting her mind off things.

She was pregnant. The very idea made her head ache. She put on more speed, trying to force herself in giving her full attention to the road, but it was impossible. She needed to think anyways. Slowing down to 75 mph, she took the bike through a dizzying number of turns.

All right. So she was pregnant. With Alec's kid. That much she was certain of. She had not been with anyone else since they had gotten together on the Italy mission, and four weeks ago was squarely in the middle of her heat cycle, which meant that the precautions they had taken had not exactly worked. Of course, there were a few times that they had been a little too eager to bother with those precautions…

Sidda could have smacked her past-self silly for being so stupid.

But now she was in a bind. She wanted this baby. That was another thing she was certain of. Something deep inside her wanted this kid, no matter how much stress it was bringing her right now. She already loved it, even though it was what, the size of a pea? Finger-length? Sidda didn't know. Sidda didn't know anything about being pregnant; she had watched Robin go through the process, but that had been Robin. She wanted the baby, but Sidda just wasn't ready for kids yet…however, it looked like she didn't have a choice.

And there was another person thrown into this mixed-up situation. Alec. The baby-daddy. Her co-conspirator. Her mate. Whatever you wanted to call him. What was she going to tell him? Was she even going to tell him? What would he think?

That was the real question on her mind. What was Alec going to think? Say? Do? Would he accept it, be happy about it, even excited, or would he flip out? Leave her? Be mad at her for letting something like this happen when he felt like their relationship was short term instead of long term? Maybe he would think this was Sidda's elaborate scheme to make sure he wouldn't leave her.

Sidda felt cold at the thoughts that were rushing through her mind. Manticore had taught her to consider every possibility and all of these were awful possibilities. There was always a worse scenario. Alec could dutifully stand by her side, regretting the entire situation but doing what he considered the right thing, and the only thing tying them together would be this tiny kid since Alec would only be there because that's what he thought was right. Because maybe this really was short-term to him instead of long-term. Alec would tie himself to her out of duty, not love, and Sidda didn't want that.

And what if that elusive mate of his showed up? Sidda and their kid would be a burden on Alec, a constant reminder of a past regret that he needed to take care of. Or there was even the possibility that Sidda's real mate would appear, that that transgenic would want Alec's kid and Alec out of the picture, possibly permanently.

Sidda shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Damn it, her head was aching again, and she was tired, both of which she now realized were symptoms of her pregnancy. Even if she didn't tell him, Alec was going to start realizing that something weird was going on with her. She needed to figure out what she was going to do and fast.

----------------------------------------

By the time Sidda returned to Terminal City, she had a plan. It probably wasn't the best plan; in fact, she knew that if she told anyone about it, they would come up with a hundred reasons why she should not do what she was going to do. So that was why she decided not to tell anyone. She had made her mind up, and she didn't want anyone to bother with trying to dissuade her.

There were things she had to do first. She had to get that prenatal exam done; it was important to know what complications, if any, she would have to deal with when the time came. She had to find an appropriate destination, gather up some fuel and pack. Secretly. She did not want anyone to know that she was leaving.

That had been the best solution that she could think of. Her friends would not be happy with her because she was leaving, but really, it was the best solution in the end. It gave Alec his freedom back, and that was what was most important to Sidda. She did not want to give him a chance to even think about being dutiful before she left.

And that was the other reason she could not tell anybody. She had well-meaning friends, but she knew if she told them of her plans, they would tell Alec to try and get him to keep Sidda from going. And then Alec would know about the baby, and then he would feel tied-up. It just wouldn't work. She would leave notes and call after she had left so that no one would freak out, but she planned on making it quite clear that she did not need any help.

"Not even born and you're already causing trouble," Sidda said as she got off her motorcycle. "You're definitely my kid, aren't you?" Great, she was already doing the talk-to-the-baby thing that she'd always made fun of Robin for when her friend had been pregnant.

She stopped and looked up at her apartment to see if the lights were on. They were. Unless she'd forgotten to turn them off, that meant Alec was back. She took in a deep breath, then headed into the building.

She stopped again outside the door, gathering herself for the façade she was about to put on. She had never had to deceive Alec before, and she did not like doing it at all. But hopefully she could just push it to the back of her mind and forget about it for a while.

"Hey, what's up?" Sidda dropped her keys on the counter and then went and sprawled on Alec, who was, predictably, on the couch. She suddenly wondered if lying on her stomach was bad for the baby…it could not matter when the baby was so small, could it? Sidda really needed to steal Robin's baby books. But just in case, Sidda shifted onto her side a bit. So much for forgetting about the baby.

"Hey, ouch, you're digging your hip bone into me," Alec protested. He wrapped his arms around her and shifted her a bit to a more comfortable position before kissing her neck. "You're cheerful today."

Well, she was covering up well then. "Yeah, I was in a bit of a mood earlier, but I think it's finally gone away," Sidda said. Oh, how much she was going to miss being wrapped in Alec's familiar scent and warm arms.

"Awesome. Maybe I'll get a little less abused tonight," Alec replied.

Sidda laughed. "Hey, I'm not nearly as bad as Syl is with Krit."

"Very true. I guess I should be grateful. Though you know, Robin…"

"Likes to go around getting shot and re-decorate her apartment every few months," Sidda finished.

"You know, you're right. I did get the best deal."

Sidda smirked. "Of course you did. And of course I'm right." He got the best deal… but would he have picked something better if he had the choice? Sidda sighed.

"You sure you're ok?" Alec asked, peering down at her.

"Yeah, just a little tired," Sidda smiled and idly drew her finger across Alec's chest, tracing the designs on his t-shirt. "I rode around on my motorcycle for a while today."

"I bet that felt great," Alec said enviously. "I went over to drop something off at the Cultural Center for Joshua, and I ended up getting stuck there for the rest of the day."

"And I bet you thought of me all day," Sidda said teasingly.

"You bet I did. Next time I watch the baby and you get to go paint walls."

"Blame all the painting on Robin," Sidda replied. "She's the one that obsesses over it." Sidda rolled over to look at the kitchen, ignoring Alec's mutterings and groanings as her bones dug into him again. "Did you save me any dinner?" she asked.

"Yeah, there's some spaghetti and garlic bread in there," Alec said. "We ate at the cafeteria tonight; Robin decided that she didn't feel like cooking. " Alec chuckled and sat up as Sidda moved off of him and headed for the kitchen. "I told Seth that it was almost too bad he had come back. No more overloads of free food."

"Nope," Sidda said. "So you should probably learn to cook, unless you want to eat dessert for dinner all the time. 'Cause that's what I'm best at." Or unless you want to starve, Sidda thought. After all, soon she wouldn't be there to make anything for Alec.

"Hmm, desserts doesn't sound too bad…we can eat those on the days we don't feel like going to the cafeteria."

Sidda rolled her eyes and grabbed a dish towel to throw at him. "You're so lazy, I don't know how you keep in shape."

"It's a gift."

Sidda grabbed the spaghetti after it was heated up and came back to the living room to sit and eat next to Alec, even though he was watching some stupid TV show. At the moment she just wanted to be close to him.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you to TwilightEclps, Alexa, Sandra, x5 416, Deanna and Marcus Sylenus for reviewing the last chapter. Totally appreciate it, guys, and I'm glad you're enjoying the craziness. ^_^

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 9

Sibil walked back into the exam room where she had left Sidda while she went to run some tests in the medical lab for her first prenatal exam. Sidda had almost passed out again because of the needles, a repetitive reaction that worried Sibil, so she was lying in the exam room.

Sidda jerked her head up and propped herself up on her elbows when Sibil walked in.

"Sidda, try to relax, you've made it through the hard parts," Sibil said, wanting to calm down her patient. All this stress wasn't good for the baby or the mother.

Sidda gripped the edge of the paper-covered table, trying to breathe properly and stop her heart from beating so fast. She was actually hooked up to a heart rate monitor since Sibil wanted to get a baseline heart rate for her, but it was difficult since Sidda was in an almost constant state of subdued panic while she was in the exam room.

"I _am_ trying," Sidda said through gritted teeth.

Sibil rubbed at her left temple, trying to get her headache to go away. She did not want to tell Sidda what she had found out from the exam and the tests, but she did not have a choice. She sat down in the chair and looked at the young transgenic.

"Sidda, from what I'm able to tell, this might not be the easiest pregnancy."

Wrong thing to say. Sidda's heart rate immediately went up, and her eyes widened. "What do you mean? Don't I just check in with you every now and then and just have him in eight months?"

Sibil shook her head. "I don't think it's going to be that simple with you."

"Why not?" Sidda demanded, sitting up.

Sibil sighed. "For one thing, your body isn't agreeing with this pregnancy like most X5s do. You're experiencing extreme headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and I suspect your blood pressure is fluctuating. You probably experience low blood pressure because of your rather accelerated metabolism. You dehydrate quickly, so it lowers your blood pressure."

"Can't those things get better with time?" Sidda asked, "Or if I do something?"

"Possibly, but I'd like to keep a close eye on them." Sibil flipped the paper over on her clipboard. "Also—"

"There's more?" Sidda let out a groan and dropped back on to the exam table. This exam had possibly been one of the most embarrassing and in-depth one in her life, and she was just ready to go. Her bike was outside, her small bag of stuff was strapped to it and she had a clear idea of where she was going. She had even left Alec a note that he would find a good time after she left, probably even after they had looked for her. He would find it as long as he did not turn the oven on without looking inside it. Not that he would ever turn the oven on the in first place…

"Sorry, Sidda," Sibil said, "But there's more."

"All right, then, what else…"

Sibil was hesitant to say the next part, knowing Sidda's aversion to simple needles, but it was better to get it out in the open than refuse to tell Sidda. She was going to find out anyway. "There is a strong possibility that you'll have to go through a C-section instead of a normal birth."

Sidda's eyes snapped toward her. "What? Why?"

"Judging on the size of your pelvis and the possible size of your child, there is a large chance that it would endanger the baby and yourself to try a regular birth," Sibil said, "There's also a chance that your labor could occur prematurely, depending on your body and the baby."

The heart monitor sped up again, and Sidda closed her eyes. Sibil was afraid that she was going to pass out, but instead Sidda just gave a long, soft sigh. "Is that all?"

"I think that's it," Sibil said. She started scribbling notes to herself on her clipboard again, things to remember about dealing with Sidda. "I think you should come in every two to three weeks for an exam. Nothing as extensive as this one, just a check-in. It's normally just one check-up a month, but I'd rather be safe than sorry, you know?"

She made the note to herself and smiled at Sidda. "So, I'll just expect you to come back in a few weeks, and we'll do some more tests and an ultrasound and listen to the baby's heart beat. Does that sound good? You really should bring Alec, he'd probably want to be here with you." She was hoping to get some kind of positive reaction from the blond transgenic by bringing up her mate, but Sidda only gave her a weak nod. Sibil got up and disconnected Sidda from the heart rate monitor, giving up on getting a good reading.

Sibil patted her on the shoulder. "Go home, get some sleep. It's going to be okay."

-----------------------------

Sidda walked out of the exam room and headed for the front door, not really paying attention to anything. She had made sure that there were pregnancy clinics where she was going, but she was not entirely sure if any of them were up to this anymore. She was startled when someone appeared in front of her, catching her by the shoulders before she barreled into him.

"Hey, Sidda, might want to watch where you're going," Seth said, laughter in his voice. "You almost ran me over."

"Seth!" Sidda stared at him, momentarily speechless. She had not expected any of her friends to be lurking around here, but then again, Seth did put in time at the infirmary… "What are you doing here?"

Seth gestured to the building, a half-smile on his face. "I work here, remember?" He looked at her, his eyebrows coming together in confusion. "Why are you here?"

Luckily, Sidda's mouth moved faster than her thoughts. "I was looking for Band-aids. We ran out back at our apartment, and I cut myself shaving." Slightly lame excuse. She forced a laugh. "It was a bad cut."

"Want me to look at it?" Seth asked, his eyes staying on her, probably trying to see through her lie.

She shook her head. "No, that's okay." She plastered a smile onto her face. "I already got one. Thanks though." Edging toward the door, she wished she could melt into the floor. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, about that, Robin wanted me to tell you she's cooking tonight," Seth said, crossing his arms over his chest, "If you guys want to come over."

Sidda nodded. "Sounds great. Later, Seth." Abruptly, she rushed out the door, knowing her behavior would seem odd to Seth. Hopefully by the time dinner rolled around, she would be long gone, beyond any net they could throw after her.

It was enough for her to be scared out of her mind; she didn't want to worry anyone else with this mess, especially Alec. There would be notes and messages for them, telling them that she was fine; only Robin would actually know what was going on and then the abridged version. Digging her sector pass out of her pocket, Sidda got on her Ducati, heading for the gate and an escape she did not really want.

--------------------

Alec put his head in his hands for a moment, then looked up at Robin. "You're sure?"

Robin nodded, her normally cheerful expression gone and replaced with a more tired one. "The news came in a few hours ago."

Alec glanced out the window. "It's bad enough that Lexington, Denali, and Nero got killed, but then to find out that it was Familiars…"

The Canada team had called a few hours ago needing for help. They had managed to extract themselves from immediate danger and get almost the whole way to Terminal City, but they were down three men and had Familiars on their tail. The whole Canada mission had been a ruse set up by White's former group to lure a good number of transgenics away from the guarded Terminal City.

"They were supposed to leave us alone," Robin said bitterly. "I know they hate us, but they're involved in the government, and they agreed on the deal that was made too, as far as I know. It was easier for them."

"Yeah, well, this is White's bunch," Alec said. "Not exactly the quitting type. Or the listening one. They have an extra special hatred just for us. Joy."

Robin folded her arms and bit her lip, an action that made Alec realize why Seth was not there.

"They sent Seth out on the rescue mission, didn't they?" he asked, picking up on her well-masked nervous worry.

"He volunteered," Robin said, sounding slightly exasperated. "And I couldn't tell him not to… that would be cruel. But I just wish sometimes that he didn't always need to be so noble."

"Says the girl who gets high off of taking bullets for other people." Alec and Robin both laughed; Alec had not been there for that time in South Africa, but he still got a good kick out of the story. "Hey, have you seen Sidda around?" Alec asked. He had seen her earlier in the morning, but she had disappeared at some point and he had not been able to find her since. And it was almost dinner time now.

Robin shook her head. "I was looking for her too, but now that I think about it, she may have gone with the team and not had time to tell you. She's good at getting people out of tough situations, they probably wanted her with them."

"Oh yeah, I didn't think about that," Alec said, "I guess we'll just have to both hope that everything goes well for them."

"Seriously," Robin said. "Well, I know I was going to cook dinner tonight, but since Seth and probably Sidda aren't here, do you want to just eat at the cafeteria with everyone?"

"Sure." Alec moved away from the window. "Gem will probably enjoy having someone else besides Dalton to talk to."

"Mhmmm." Robin smiled to herself; Gem probably already had someone else. Robin had noticed that Gem and Matrix, the guy she had introduced Gem to at her wedding, had hit it off pretty well. She had seen them together in various places around Terminal City the last couple of days.

----------------------------------

The cafeteria was full of anxious people, waiting to hear that the remaining transgenics had returned safely.

"I hope Sidda didn't go off with that team because she felt guilty about Lexington," Gem said, forgetting that Alec had been involved in that incident as well. She, Alec and Robin were sitting at one end of a table, sipping on coffee since dinner had been over for a while now. It was almost midnight.

Alec grimaced. "Thanks, Gem."

Gem looked at him, startled, and then blushed. "No, I…I was saying that no one should feel guilty about the fact that Lex went. He probably would have been chosen even if he hadn't volunteered; he's a good leader."

"But apparently not as alpha as somebody," Robin said, grinning slightly.

Alec sighed and brushed his hand through his hair. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"

"No, but it's ok. It embarrasses Sidda even more than it does you. Take comfort in that," Robin said.

Alec was about to reply but stopped when the doors opened and an excited Dalton ran in. The whole room immediately hushed. "They're back… the teams are back at the gate!"

"Wow, that was fast," Alec said, standing up. And so was he though, as he moved for the nearest door. He would not admit it to anyone, but he was a bit worried about the fact that Sidda had joined the rescue team. He was glad Seth was there and could look out for her since she had just been acting funny lately. She claimed to be tired a lot, which was unusual for her. He did not want her in high-pressure situations if she was not feeling her best.

The small crowd from the cafeteria met up with the returning trucks about halfway between the gate and the clinic that it was heading to. Max got out of one of the trucks to let everyone know how the team was doing, but Alec caught a glimpse of Seth sitting in the passenger side of the first truck and decided to stop Max's "everything will be ok" speech.

He waved and yelled to catch Seth's attention. "Hey, Seth! Everyone ok? Sidda all right?"

Seth frowned at Alec. "We got everyone back safely that went with the teams…what do you mean about Sidda?"

"Well, she went with you guys, right?"

Seth shook his head. "No, definitely not. Last I saw her was today at the clinic." He motioned Alec closer, and Alec ran over and jumped onto the footrest outside of the truck door. He grabbed the window to hold steady as the truck moved down Terminal City's uneven streets.

"She said she'd cut herself shaving and needed a Band-Aid, but I know Sidda wouldn't go to the clinic for something small like that," Seth said. He looked at Alec worriedly. "Is something wrong with her?"

Alec looked away from the truck, wondering if anything else about this day could go more wrong. "I don't know," he said. And then he hopped off the truck. He had to go find her.

"What's wrong with him?" Dalton said as he saw Alec run off.

Gem shrugged. "I have no idea."

Alec flipped open his cell phone and called Sidda. Maybe she was just in the apartment or something. But why the hell had she gone to the infirmary earlier? And why didn't she tell him she was going there, she hated that place, she should have let him go with her… He headed toward where he had parked his motorcycle while the phone rang. "Come on, pick up…"

"_Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? You creeper…" _

Damn it. Sidda's prank answering message. When it finished playing, he was already at his motorcycle, revving it. "Hey, Sid, it's me. Where are you? Look, call me back when you get this message. Some shit's going down, and, yeah, just call me."

--------------------------------------

Sidda wasn't in the apartment. She wasn't in Robin's apartment or Syl's or Mona's or Gem's or Max's or the garage or anywhere in their apartment building. The Cultural Center was devoid of Sidda, just like headquarters, the cafeteria, Joshua's old studio, the sewers and the infirmary. The guards had lost track of who they had let in and out of the gates with the rescue team going out and all the momentary chaos, so there wasn't even a way to tell if she had left Terminal City.

Robin sat at her kitchen table, feeding Taylor her bottle and watching the cell phone that was lying innocently in the middle of the table. It was five in the morning, and there was still no sign of Sidda. A lot of people were still looking for her, but Robin had to go back and take care of Taylor.

Robin played with Taylor's fine, silky hair. Why hadn't Sidda at least called to say she was all right? She had probably gone off to steal something and had her cell phone turned off. Or at least that was the excuse Robin was telling herself and anyone else who dared come up with something worse.

She was staring off into space, thinking, when the cell phone suddenly rang with Sidda's ringtone. Snatching the cell phone off the table, Robin answered it. "Where are you?!"

"Hey, Ro—"

Robin cut her off. "You have to come home right now, it isn't safe, do you understand? White got to the Canada team, Denali's dead, and so are Nero and Lexington. Do you need someone to get you?"

"No, Robin, I'm fine." There was a pause, and it was oddly quiet on Sidda's end of the line. Seattle was never quiet. Maybe she was inside somewhere. "What do you mean, White got the Canada team?"

Robin told Sidda what she knew about what had happened to the team that had gone to Canada. They had been ambushed by White and his Familiars before they reached their destination; the ones who had survived had barely gotten out with their lives. "Everyone's falling back to Terminal City, even the people at the farm, so if you're off on some burgling high, get back here."

"I'm not burgling."

"So, whatever, you're coming back, right?" Robin clung to the phone, wondering why Sidda was being so weird. "Where are you?"

A pause. "Robin, I'm going away for a while."

There was a long moment of quiet where Robin just stared, her mouth hanging open. "What?"

Sidda gave a long sigh. "Something's come up, and I really need to handle it before coming back to T.C. It won't be forever."

"When are you coming back then? Tomorrow?" Robin demanded. She stood up, holding Taylor in one arm while pressing the phone to her ear with the other. "Why are you even leaving?"

"It's sort of hard to explain—"

"I don't understand," Robin said. She put Taylor down on the couch amidst pillows so she could focus on the conversation. She took a breath to try to calm herself down. "Look, whatever it is, it can't be that bad. Everyone's out looking for you, Alec's freaking out."

"Well, tell him not to, I'm fine," Sidda said tersely, "Seriously, tell him to stop looking."

"Tell him yourself, you have his number," Robin snapped back at her. She put her free hand on her hips and glared. "Or better yet, come home and tell him what's wrong. Tell me what's wrong!"

"I just need some time to think," Sidda replied.

"Can't you do that here?" Robin asked, "I don't get why you have to leave. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I told you, I'm fine."

Robin had been around Sidda enough to know that her friend was lying and doing a very poor job of it. She walked over to the window and pulled open the blinds so she could get a good look at the city as if she would somehow spot Sidda. "You are not, what's wrong?"

"Robin, I…"

"What?" Robin prompted, wanting her to finally say what was going on so she could refute it with logic since Sidda was obviously being irrational.

"You have to swear not to tell anyone, no matter what I tell you." Sidda was serious. "You can't even tell Seth."

"I won't," Robin replied.

"No, you have to swear," Sidda demanded, her tone stubborn and insistent.

Robin sighed and put a hand to her head. "Sure, Sidda, I swear not to tell anyone, no matter what you tell me."

"Okay." Sidda was quiet for a long time, and then she took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

Robin stopped short, blinking. "Say that again."

"No, you heard me the first time," Sidda said.

"Are you serious?"Robin exclaimed, suddenly smiling, "That's great! Have you told Alec yet?"

"No, and you can't tell him either," Sidda said, "You swore not to."

"Wait, this is why you ran away?" Robin sat down on the couch next to Taylor and leaned back, trying to figure Sidda's mind out. "Why don't you want Alec to know you're pregnant?"

"Because…I just… he doesn't need the burden of a kid, ok? This is something I'm going to do on my own." Wonderful, Sidda was being noble.

"Sidda, you can do it on your own without leaving Terminal City."

"No, I can't. Alec would probably insist on helping out, and I won't have him there out of a sense of duty."

"Sidda, when have you ever seen a transgenic male who isn't totally thrilled at the idea of being a father? Alec would want to be part of the baby's life." Even though Robin was still trying to persuade Sidda to see reason, Robin also knew that Sidda was on one of her stubborn streaks. She wasn't going to change her mind about this, and Robin wasn't going to change her mind about the fact that she thought it important that Alec know what Sidda was up to.

Robin got up and went into her bedroom to search for that tape recorder she'd found and stuffed away in there last month. She'd swore she wouldn't tell Alec anything, but if she happened to leave a tape recording sitting around… well, she wasn't technically saying anything to him at all.

"Alec's different," Sidda said stubbornly. "You've heard about what he was like before…"

"Before you came along," Robin interrupted. "He isn't interested in being with anyone else now, Sidda. He just wants to be with you, and probably wants to have kids with you." Aha, found it. Robin pushed the record button, and breathed a sigh of relief as it worked. She wasn't sure she had any extra batteries floating around.

"Why would Alec want a kid? That would only tie him down; he probably never planned on staying with me permanently."

"That's the most ridiculous thing you've ever said," Robin shook her head and turned the tape recorder off. She couldn't do it. She couldn't play all of Sidda's insecurities out for Alec, that would just be cruel. "And no matter what the deal is, do you know how crazy it is to run off when you're supposed to have a baby? We're not like Ordinaries, Sidda, we can't just transfer hospitals. What are you going to do when they discover what you are?"

"I'll figure it out when it happens," Sidda replied stubbornly. "Look, Robin, I have to go."

"You have to give me something I can tell them," Robin said forcefully. "Otherwise they won't stop looking for you. So unless you want them to keep searching…"

"No, no, no." Robin could hear a deep sigh on the other side. "Look, tell them I'm ok, I won't go anywhere near Familiar territory, that I just needed some time to myself. Tell Alec I love him and that… that… he needs to start cooking for himself, ok? But clean the oven first."

"Oh, that's sweet," Robin said, rolling her eyes. She put her hand to her forehead, wishing desperately that she could think of some way to get Sidda to see reason. She just couldn't believe that Sidda planned to leave Terminal City for nine months, maybe even longer.

"You better keep in touch," Robin said.

"I will, but don't bother calling, just wait for me to call you. I'm throwing my cell phone away after this call."

"Sidda, really?"

"Bye, Robin."

"Bye." Robin listened to the cell phone click, then looked at Taylor who was watching her with wide eyes. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

The first thing she did was call Max to get her to pull everyone off of the search. It was actually pretty difficult to do; Max obviously wanted more of an explanation then "she's fine, nowhere near Familiars, she just needed to get away for a while."

But once that had been accomplished, Robin had to steal herself for the confrontation with Alec. Because she knew that once Alec had found out that it was Robin who called the search off, he would come to her demanding to know what Sidda was doing. And it was going to be the most difficult thing she'd ever done to not tell him.

------------------------------

"The search has been called off? What? Why? Have they found her?"

Seth closed his eyes and tried not to pity his friend. He opened them again and Alec was giving him a strange, closed look.

"What aren't you telling me, Seth?"

Seth glanced down at his phone. He'd just hung up with Max. "Apparently Sidda called Robin. She told Robin everything was fine."

"Oh." Alec laughed and clapped Seth on the shoulder. "Don't act all weird like that, Seth. I thought they'd found her body or something, and you didn't want to tell me."

"No, no, nothing like that."

Alec frowned at Seth; Seth was still looking way too serious and tense. "What else did Sidda say when she called Robin?"

"I don't know exactly," Seth admitted, "All that Robin would tell Max was that Sidda was safe, staying away from Familiars and… needed some time to be away for a while."

Alec frowned and looked away. "I don't get it," he said finally. "Why didn't she tell me that something was wrong, that she needed to go away?" He pulled at the edges of his leather jacket. "Did she tell you guys that anything was bothering her?"

"No, she didn't. And I'm sure Robin would have said something to me if Sidda had told her anything."

"Call Robin," Alec urged. "I bet they talked longer; Robin probably just didn't want everyone knowing all the details."

"Or else Sidda didn't," Seth said quietly. Alec didn't say anything.

Seth flipped open the phone again and dialed Robin's number. After talking to her for a short minute, he hung up and looked at Alec. "She says she'd rather if you came over in person. She said it was kind of complicated."

"Well, that sounds like it definitely involves Sidda then," Alec said grimly. He really didn't know what was going on at this point. He'd known something was up with Sidda the last few days, but he hadn't been able to figure out what. He'd assumed that if it was a big deal, Sidda would tell him. Apparently he'd thought wrong, but whatever it was, he was going to put a lot more effort into finding it out.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you to Tina, Winchester girl, Aggie2011, TwilightEclps , nattylovesu for reviewing the last chapter!

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 10

_Hey Schnookims: I'm glad you decided to take up cooking. I know I should've called you and left you a message instead of writing you a message because you hate reading so much... Kidding, kidding, sorry, not a time for jokes. You're probably mad at me right now, and that's okay, I really completely understand. If you ran out on me, I'd be pretty pissed, but just give me a chance to explain, this isn't running out._

_There's nothing I would rather do than put down this pen, rip up this paper and throw it in the trash and wait for you to come home, but something's happened that I can't ignore. It's not you, so no self-deprecating, self-hating angst, please, Alec? I don't want to hurt you, ever, but I have to leave for a little while. Let me reiterate for your doubting soul: this is not your fault. This is a personal problem, stemming from myself, and I'll tell you about it when I come back, I promise, but you're just going to have to trust me on this. I'm going to be all right where I'm going, so don't worry about me. I love you, Alec._

_~Sidda~_

Alec had memorized every word on that paper he had found folded up and addressed to him in the oven in their apartment. Sidda's poor hand-writing was now seared into his mind, and it kept scrolling over the inside of the visor of his motorcycle helmet. Did she really expect him to just let her go off like that with some ridiculous reasoning that she needed some time alone? Stubborn woman…who loved him. She had said so.

He was currently in South Dakota. East had seemed like the most likely direction for Sidda to take; some of her missions back in Manticore had been over on the East Coast. North was out of the question because she hated the cold, and the extreme heat of South America wasn't exactly her thing either. And she hadn't gone west. No, she was traveling east, heading toward the Atlantic.

He pulled his motorcycle up beside a blue hotrod and peered inside. The elderly man driving the car shot him a scowl before slowing the car down, causing Alec to go shooting past him. No, not her. Again.

Back in North Dakota, he had found her street bike stashed in a storage unit. Now that he couldn't even look for that, he was passing the time by looking at every driver he came across on the road. Tracking Sidda was harder than he thought it would be. At first he had tried going to straight across through Montana, but there hadn't been a trace of her.

Alec had gone to North Dakota after that, and some serious searching and having Logan put out his extensive informant network had eventually gotten him to Oacoma, South Dakota, where someone on one of those weird, fanatical Internet boards where people wrote about their opinions on transgenics claimed to have seen a woman with a barcode on the back of her neck. He had confronted her about it and had woke up a day later tied up in a basement with a gag in his mouth. Sidda never did like people staring at her barcode.

Sidda had a three day gain on Alec, and every minute he spent looking for her put more miles between him and her. If she would just use a credit card from Terminal City and show off her barcode a little more, he would have her by now, but no, Sidda was too well-trained for that. She hadn't even called back to Terminal City since the first day.

Alec pulled off the road and into a service station. The bike needed gas, and he needed something to eat. A microwave burrito would be good right now.

'_Alec,' she laughed, 'You eat way too many instant-meals. You're going to be such a fatty one day. Alpha male equals couch potato much?' _

Alec shook his head, trying to stop Sidda's voice from speaking in his head. Having an eidetic memory sucked when you missed someone. Besides, as an alpha male, or any male even, he needed a lot of food, for energy and stami— Alec rubbed his hand across his forehead and half-smiled. Was he really arguing with her when she wasn't even there?

He walked into the store, the little bell dinging above his head. The young woman at the counter perked up when he came in, smiling at him with heavily-massacred eyes over the top of her women's magazine. She was covered in tattoos, mostly of them of flowers, hearts and stars, and all of them were colorful. It made her look like a walking piece of art instead of a person, but it was okay; it sort of made her striking.

Alec nodded to her before walking over to the frozen section. It was a pitiful selection of food, but, as always, there were frozen burritos. He grabbed four of them and snatched a bottle of water too. See, he could be healthy… After a moment, he put the water back and went for the darkest soda he could find before going over to the microwave to heat up his burritos. Take that, Sidda.

The woman at the counter grinned at him as he put the burritos and the soda down on the counter. "Is that all?"

"That and," Alec said, pointing to his motorcycle outside, "Whatever thirty bucks will get me."

The girl whistled, her bright red lips forming an 'O.' "Nice bike."

"Thanks," he said. He paid for the food and the gas and started to go out the door.

"Hey, you have that tattoo!" the woman suddenly exclaimed. Alec went rigid. He turned back to her slowly, wondering if he was going to have to shut her up somehow. Her eyes were shining as she motioned to the back of her neck. "Are you with the group too?"

"What group?"

"H.F.T," she said. When he only stared at her, she sighed. "Humans For Transgenics. They all have that tattoo, or that's what the girl said. Just like the transgenics."

Alec raised an eyebrow and started to have an idea of what was going on. "Oh, her? The blond one, about this tall?" He motioned to a place a couple inches below his shoulders, right where the top of Sidda's head would have come. "She was here?"

The woman nodded. "Yeah, about couple days ago. She said that there's a convention going on in Seattle, but it's supposed to be a secret." Her eyes suddenly widened, and she put a hand to her mouth. "Oh, shit, I wasn't supposed to say anything."

Alec smiled, completely disarming her. "It's okay. I'm with her. Did she say she was going anywhere besides Seattle?"

"No, no where," the woman said, "Look, I'm sorry I said anything."

"Don't worry about it," Alec said. He motioned to the road. "Do you remember which way she went? We're supposed to be meeting up, and I have a really bad sense of direction."

"Um, I think she took a left, towards the highway," the woman said, "But like I said, it was a couple days ago."

"Thanks," Alec said, giving the woman a charming grin. As he headed for his motorcycle so he could fill it up with gas, he scarfed down one of the burritos. Now he knew that Sidda had been here and at least which way she probably headed. That was more than he had before.

-------------------------------------

Sidda smiled as she stroked the steering wheel of her newly-stolen silver convertible Mustang. If she had to give up her Ducati, the Mustang wasn't a bad replacement. And it wasn't like her Ducati would be gone forever; when she came back, she'd pick it up. She'd be the envy of every vehicle-lover in TC: a Ducati and a Mustang all to herself.

Sidda glanced out the window again. The scruffy-looking dude who was using it was beginning to get on her nerves. He had been at the pay phone for twenty minutes, and in Sidda's mind, if you were going to use a phone for twenty minutes, you might as well buy your own cell phone. Then again, the scruffiness sort of suggested that he was hitchhiking… maybe he couldn't afford a new phone. Still, twenty minutes on a pay phone wasn't exactly cheap either. Maybe he was a criminal on the run.

Or maybe you're just a bored idiot who has nothing better to do than to speculate why perfectly ordinary people are using a pay phone, which they have the right to do without being questioned, she told herself.

Sidda looked back at the phone. Good, the guy was finally leaving.

Sidda threw open her car door and then shut it quickly against the rain. It was almost dark now, so Sidda blended into the night, especially since she had the collar of her leather jacket pulled up around her face. What could she say? She was part cat, and cats didn't like rainy weather.

Just as she was about to reach the phone booth, a man cut in front of her and went in, shutting the door in her face. Sidda made a face; she knew she blended in, but she also knew she wasn't invisible. Sidda disliked rude people, but she decided to give the guy a chance just in case he really was blind. Sidda tapped politely on the glass to catch his attention. The man turned around and gave her an annoyed look.

"Sorry, but I think you didn't see me waiting. It's my turn to use the phone." Sidda smiled as an added bonus.

"Well, I already paid, so you can just cool it."

Sidda went for the door, and the man grabbed it to keep her from opening it. "Back off, bitch," he said.

That was it. Sidda hissed and decided she was done with being polite. Her boot made contact with the glass, and she smiled at the satisfying crunch and then the resulting shower of glass.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The man said.

"You caught me in a bad mood," Sidda said, yanking the guy's collar and pulling him out. "I tried to keep it in check, but you just weren't being polite." She threw the man onto the sidewalk. "And I don't like being called a bitch. I'm not a fan of dogs."

The man stared at her, but Sidda ignored him and went into the phone booth. How convenient; the man had already paid what she estimated half the price of a call to T.C. to be. Sidda paid and dialed the number, then turned around so that she could keep her eye on the guy. Never take your eye off the enemy.

"I thought you didn't like being up at 5 a.m.," Robin sounded slightly grouchy on the other end of the line.

Sidda smiled. "I know you're feeding Taylor, so you're probably alone and nowhere that someone can track the call."

"I am so getting Krit to lend me the software I need," Robin grumbled.

"Well, then, I won't call."

Robin sighed. "Can you even tell me where, in general, you are now?"

"Oh, sure," Sidda said. "Kansas City."

"Sidda! There are two Kansas Cities."

"Well, I told you what you wanted to know; you'll just have to guess the rest." Sidda raised her eyebrow as the man started to walk toward her again. Acting sensibly, the man decided to stop and lean against a nearby lamppost.

"You're awful."

"I know. How is everyone?" By everyone she meant Alec, but she didn't really want to say it. And she knew Robin would guess what she really wanted to know.

"Everyone's fine at the moment. You should call Alec."

"Why? Is he not doing ok? Did he find my note?"

"Yes, he did… that whole 'learning to cook thing, use the oven'… Sidda, you're absolutely ridiculous, do you know that?"

Sidda snickered. "I thought it was clever."

"You would."

"But he was ok with it and all?"

"I don't really know, seeing as he took off about an hour after he found it. And don't tell me I should've tried to stop him; I wasn't home. Seth answered the door, and Alec said he'd found a note in the oven and he was going to go find you because you were being a stubborn idiot."

Sidda's heart stopped. "Alec's trying to find me? Why? I told him I'd come back!"

"Yeah, well, apparently he didn't like not being told when either," Robin said dryly.

Sidda looked at the man and almost groaned; now she couldn't help but think back to every person she'd encountered on her way to Kansas City, Missouri. Great, more people for Alec to use to find her.

"If he calls, don't tell him I said I was in Kansas City," Sidda said warningly.

"Nuh-uh, I'm not swearing to anything this time," Robin said. "And you shouldn't really make me pass messages; you should call him yourself."

"Yeah, I'll get back to you on that." Sidda needed to leave now. "There's a guy wanting to use the phone, I'll call again soon."

"Sidda…"

"Bye, Robin."

"Gah. Fine. Bye."

Sidda hung up the phone and stared at it. The man started coming toward the phone booth, his stride determined. Sidda held up a hand. He flung his arms into the air.

"Damn it, give me the phone!"

"Get your own," she snapped back, her voice more like a snarl than any human-sounding speaking voice. "I have an important call to make. Now get!"

The man looked at her, his eyes widened. He glanced over her one last time before bowing his head and walking away, scolded into submission. Sidda turned back to the pay phone and fed it a few quarters before dialing a certain cell phone number.

It rang twice before he picked up. "Hello?"

"What the hell, Alec?"

There was a pause and then a heart-wrenchingly relieved reply. "Sidda?"

"No, it's actually Lydecker." Sidda stepped farther away from the broken door of the booth. Maybe breaking it hadn't actually been a good idea with it raining and everything, but she wasn't always rational nowadays, what with the crazy mood swings and all. "Yes, it's me."

"_Where are you_?" The question was more of a demand, and it took all of Sidda's stubbornness to not answer him.

"Somewhere you shouldn't be following."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, it's so." Sidda leaned against the opposite wall of the booth. "Didn't I tell you to trust me that I know what I'm doing?"

"Yeah, but you forgot to factor in that I like to know what you're doing." Alec growled under his breath. There was a long moment of quiet, and Sidda just listened to him breathing. "Why can't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"It's not really something you can fix, macho man," Sidda said, smirking at her pale reflection in the glass panes of the phone booth. "Seriously, Alec, I'm doing this for both of our good, and it'd be best if you'd just go back to TC."

There was a bark of laughter on the other end of the line. "For our good? Sidda, if this is good, please, stop already. I'd rather be tortured than live the good life you've come up with for us."

Sidda put a hand to her forehead. "You don't even know what you're saying."

"I'd have a better idea of what was going on if you'd just tell me," Alec said. He sighed. "But it's looking like I'm going to be chasing you across the country instead of sitting down and having a nice, peaceful conversation back at Terminal City. Or even somewhere else."

"Alec, just go home!" Sidda demanded, "Why can't you go home?"

"Why should I? Why don't you go home first, and then I'll meet you there?"

Sidda clenched her fist and almost broke the phone. "You are so aggravating!"

"And this is coming from you?" Alec gave a real laugh this time. "Do you have any idea how _extremely_ irritating you're being right now?"

"At least I'm not following someone who doesn't want to be followed."

"Sidda, tell me that you hate me and that you never want to see me again, and I'll leave you alone."

Sidda's breath caught in her throat. "You're such an idiot."

"And you can't say it, so I guess I'm following you." Static broke their connection for a moment. "Sidda?"

"I'm still here," she mumbled into the receiver. "Is this a part of the whole alpha male thing? You have to chase women relentlessly?"

"Yeah, if running away is part of the alpha female thing, then sure." He gave a long sigh, and she imagined him running his fingers through his hair, his face sort of hard. "Can you at least tell me if you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she said. It was true, mostly. She hadn't felt dizzy or weak since she left TC, but the headaches and exhaustion really hadn't faded.

"Why were you at the infirmary?" he asked.

Sidda put her free hand on her hip. "Are you going to interrogate me right now?"

"Yeah, possibly. Maybe I just like hearing the sound of your voice."

"You're ridiculous," Sidda said, but a small smile drifted onto her face.

Alec laughed. "You're smiling."

"And now you're delusional," Sidda replied.

"No, if I was delusional I would think that you're going to stay exactly where you are and let me come find you. But you're not, are you?"

Sidda pressed her free hand flat against her stomach, reminding herself of why she wasn't doing just that. All she wanted to do right now was tell Alec where she was, wait for him to find her and curl up with him. "No, I'm not. I'm sorry, Alec."

"That's what I thought. I guess I'll just have to drive faster."

"Try not to get arrested."

"Would you come get me if I did?"

"Oh, Alec." Sidda shook her head. "Love you."

There was a brief pause. "I love you, too, Sidda. Doesn't that count for something?"

"Everything," Sidda mumbled before she hung up the phone. Hot tears bit her cheeks as they fell down her face. She roughly wiped them away before going back to her car, trying to remember exactly why this was a good idea.

--------------------------

Things weren't going so well anymore in Terminal City. Everything had been coming together, looking good, and now it was like someone had decided to take all their lives and shake them just for fun, to see what happened. But nothing fun was coming out of it.

Max sighed as Logan gently massaged her shoulders.

"When are they getting here again?" he asked.

"Five, tonight," she replied, arching her back slightly so that he could get the really sore spots.

"Any good news?"

"No, not really. They're having trouble with some of the pipes and the wiring in the Cultural Center, the humans are trying to throw handmade grenades over the fence, and Alec and Sidda are playing Keep Away somewhere out East."

"Mmm, yeah, sounds like typical bad news." Logan sat down on the desk in front of Max. "But, there's good news too."

"Really? Do tell."

"Well, the government is meeting with us, and they're upset about the Familiars too. That means the rogue group of Familiars doesn't have government support, which is a good thing. Also, I just heard from Krit that they solved the wiring problems in the Cultural Center. So if nothing else goes wrong over there, the Center will be done sooner than if they hadn't fixed it now."

Grinning, Logan held up a finger to keep Max from speaking. "And, statistically, only about 30% of those grenades that those people have been throwing over the wall actually work. So that's good news."

Max laughed. "Your way of being optimistic is slightly disturbing."

Logan shrugged. "Can't help it, I've been in a pretty good mood lately."

"Yeah, I bet you have," Max said, smirking at him. They'd both been in a very good mood up until the incident with the Familiars.

Max waved her hands at him. "Now get out of here. I can't concentrate when you bother me."

Logan grinned and grabbed his coat off of the arm of the empty chair on the other side of her desk. "I'm heading over to the Cultural Center then. See you at five."

The Cultural Center was quickly becoming the new place to hang out. There was pretty much guaranteed to be work there for anyone who felt the need to be doing something, and there was space for all the people who wanted to be there. Plus, they had set up a temporary daycare in one of the rooms, and those transgenics who had babies found it very convenient.

This Cultural Center was one of the best ideas they'd come up with as a community, Logan thought. It would give everyone something to do, keep them from feeling like they were being cooped up in Terminal City. The farm was going to help with that too, but not everyone could make it out there whenever they felt like it.

"Hey, Joshua, what's up?" Logan asked as he entered the lobby. Or what had been the lobby in the old building. A few walls had been knocked down, and the large room now sported comfortable couches, a large flat screen TV, a pool table, and a fridge where sodas were kept.

Joshua was, at the moment, busy hanging one of his paintings on the far wall above the couch.

"Hey Logan. Joshua making room look good. Robin say art make walls nice."

"Indeed they do." In fact, the painting Joshua was hanging actually sort of matched the room. It had a very vibrant yet woodsy feel. Robin definitely knew her stuff when it came to the whole decorating thing.

"Do you know if they fixed the pipes yet?" Logan asked.

"Mmm, noo, don't know. They're in the back of building."

"Well, I'm going to head back there then. I'll see you later Joshua." Joshua simply nodded his head; he was very intent on making sure that his picture was perfectly level.

In the back of the building he found Seth, Twizzler, Everett and Mole messing around with the pipes. Logan didn't want to ask if they even knew what they were doing since Logan didn't know much about pipes, but from the looks of things, it was going to be a while before the pipes were fixed.

Seth spotted Logan first. "Oh, hey, Logan. While you're here… is the government still on schedule for tonight?"

Logan nodded. "Yeah, they're supposed to be here at five, Max said. So I guess we'll probably have the meeting around six."

"Good," Seth said. "I hope they plan on having some real answers to our questions this time, because when it comes to Familiars, I'm not willing to sit around and wait for things to get better."

"I know what you mean," Logan said. "Familiars tend to make me nervous."

"Familiars make me want to beat the crap out of them," Mole grunted.

"These pipes make me want to beat the crap out of them," Twizzler said before hauling off and whacking one of the pipes. It cracked, and water gushed out of the hole. Mole, caught right in the face by the small geyser, turned toward Twizzler with a vicious scowl on his face.

"I think I'm going to beat the crap out of you," Mole growled.

Twizzler gave a nervous laugh and edged away from the transhuman while Everett worked on fixing the new leak. Logan shared a look with Seth who looked especially frustrated. Something told Logan that plumbing wasn't Seth's calling.

"Let's save it for the Familiars," Seth said, trying to calm down Mole's frustration. The lizard-man wiped at his face.

"As long as candy-head here," Mole jerked a thumb at Twizzler, "quits being a maggot."

Twizzler frowned at Mole. "Who're you calling a maggot—"

At a glare from Seth, Twizzler trailed off into an unintelligible grumble and moved away from Mole, heading for a new pipe. Logan clapped Seth on shoulder and motioned to the pipes. "Have fun with that."

"I'll try," Seth said, a forced smile on his face. "See you at six."

"See ya."

---------------------

Max hated these government meetings. This time she had made sure that the transgenics in the room outnumbered the government agents. Seth and Robin were here, along with Joshua, Mole, Krit, Syl, Gem and a few others who were respected in the community.

She glared across the table at the government spokesperson, Chairman Johnson or Johansson or whatever. He wasn't a Familiar, he didn't smell like one, but he knew what they were, she could tell. Agent Kenton gave her a steady, even look that told her to stop boring holes into the chairman with her eyes, but Max wasn't in the mood to oblige. She was, however, in the mood to drum her fingers on the table while the chairman tried to explain the situation.

"No one could have foreseen the unfortunate incident in Canada—"

"Incident?" Max hissed, her voice full of venom. "That wasn't an incident. Our people walked into an ambush."

The chairman blinked. "As I said, it was unfortunate, but we had no idea that it was going to occur. Our own intelligence of the rogue group, the Familiars, did not foresee that it was a tactical entanglement."

Max lowered her eyelids into a deeper glare. "Tactical entanglement? Is that what you're calling a set-up nowadays?"

The chairman tilted his head to the side and clasped his hands in front of him on the table. "Miss Guevara, we are doing all we can to figure out how that information about the mission made it out and into enemy hands—"

"I've told you multiple times, through Agent Kenton and other ways, the Familiars want us dead no matter what," Max exclaimed, "And there are Familiars in your government."

"I would appreciate it if you would let me finish a proper sentence." The chairman frowned back at her, and Max sat back into her chair.

"Fine, go ahead," she said. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him.

"Thank you." The chairman straightened his tie before he looked around the room. "As I was saying, we're looking into this Familiar problem as we speak. For now, travel out of Terminal City is to be restricted for your own protection—"

There was a round of grumbling and arguing at that new development, but Max held up her hand. "All right, but in return, you're going to be providing us with everything we need, including supplies."

The chairman nodded, his lips tight. "Not that you come by those goods by innocent means in the first place."

Max shrugged. "Playing Robin Hood hasn't ever been looked down at."

"Unless you're the rich," he replied.

Max smirked. "Well, we've never really had to worry about that." She glanced over at Logan. Okay, so one of them had, but she didn't count Logan among the rich and snooty.

"I'm certain," the chairman said in his dry tone. "But, yes, your needs will be provided for."

"But what about the Familiars?" Seth exclaimed. He had been silent so far, but now he turned those calculating blue-green eyes toward the chairman. "We're better equipped to take out Familiars than your normal soldiers are. Wouldn't it be tactically advisable to let us deal with them?"

"We're looking into that possibility," the chairman replied, "But, for now, we want you all to stay in Terminal City. Your safety is our greatest concern at the moment."

Max almost burst into incredulous laughter. The safety of transgenics being a top priority for the government? As if! But it was a little strange that the government was actually putting on a front like this; if the Familiars in the government were trying to get them all killed, it would seem like they would want to send them all out of missions at once and then kill them or something like that. This…this was strange. Max would have to think about this before she came to any real conclusion.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and put up with this extended absence of story. I didn't mean to wait this long before updating again, and because I did, I'm going to update two chapters back-to-back. A special thank you to peculiarxemma for getting me to wake up and update this again! ^_^

**Ex Multus Familia**

**2**

Chapter 11

Sidda had gone as far as she could go. The Outer Banks of North Carolina. Sidda had laid a false trail for quite a ways toward Georgia; she was hoping that would throw Alec off since he knew that she'd had a mission there before.

It wasn't that she didn't love him anymore. She just didn't want Alec to find her, find out about the kid, and then insist on doing the right thing and take care of her and the baby. If she just had the time to prove that she was perfectly fine raising the child on her own, well, then Alec wouldn't need to feel obligated to help her out when she went back to Terminal City. Hopefully he'd want to though, without the obligated part…

The Atlantic Ocean was very different from the Pacific. She'd already been in the ocean; she hadn't been able to resist when she caught sight of it. It was dark and chilly, but it felt good to her. She'd spent several hours just floating in the water, enjoying how relaxed it made her feel. She hadn't realized how tense she was until she tried to relax.

She missed Alec.

A cheap hotel had sustained her for a couple nights, but tonight she was moving into a small house she'd managed to rent from some islander. It was really cheap since it was a fixer-upper, but she didn't mind. She didn't need a lot of space, and she'd certainly have time to fix the place up. It wasn't too terrible-looking; as Robin would say, the place had potential.

Sidda also had decided to go to the marina later to try and get a job. She'd looked around a bit, and she just didn't feel like taking a job at the usual tourist shops and restaurants. If she worked for the marina, she might get to go out on one of the boats, and maybe the job wouldn't be deadly boring the way a shop job was guaranteed to be.

Maybe she didn't necessarily need a job, but she couldn't very well live off of stolen credit cards and wallets forever, especially if she was settling. It was a little too risky if she planned on staying at Hatteras until the baby was born. If she was desperate, she could always steal from some of the vacation homes, but she would still need something to do during the day. Sidda liked to be active and working, and she didn't have the temperament to become a beach bum for eight months. Besides, when she went back, she didn't want Alec…everyone thinking she had run away from all the responsibilities of Terminal City.

Sidda parked her car at the marina, officially called Teach's Lair Marina, but she personally thought that was a bit of a mouthful. It was a very clean marina, unlike the one Sidda remembered from her time in Georgia. The buildings had been freshly painted and looked striking against the blue water and sky.

A few vacationers were milling about, going into the store or waiting to go onto the boats they'd chartered. Other people who were either locals or had a bit more water experience were taking their own boats out onto the water or bringing them back in. The marina obviously hadn't suffered much when the economy went haywire after the Pulse.

The store was pretty typical; bait and tackle shop, tourist items, an area where tours could be chartered, and a small restaurant in the back. Sidda sighed and went up to the desk. It had been a while since she'd actually applied for a job without already knowing someone working at the job or being handed off to a Manticore insider who worked there. She wasn't sure she really wanted to give any references either. It was just entirely too possible that someone would give away her location to Alec or even a Familiar for that matter.

"Excuse me," Sidda said to the 20-something-year-old behind the desk. She smiled at him as he looked up; he was actually kind of cute. If this had been before Alec, she might have been interested in him. He had light brown hair, blue eyes, a nice amount of scruff, and of course, the requisite muscles and tan that came with working at a marina.

The man grinned back at her. "Hey, can I help you?"

"I was wondering if I could apply to work here, possibly on one of your charter boats." She put a hand on her hip as the guy unobtrusively gave her a doubting look. "I know I don't look like much, but I'm tougher than you would think. I've also had experience working with boats before."

The guy laughed and held his hands up. "I'm sorry. We just don't have many women apply for jobs that don't involve the restaurant or the shop."

"Well, I can warn you right now, I don't really care much about being like other women." Manticore didn't exactly allow her to be like everyone else.

"Somehow, I find that easy to believe." The man pulled out an application from a drawer behind the desk and handed it to her. "Name's Jim, by the way."

Sidda shook his hand. "I'm Sidda." She had thought about using aliases, but if Alec got this far, she would have to confront him anyway, and she didn't feel like choosing another name. She had this one, and she wasn't switching anymore.

"So what brought you to the Outer Banks? You don't exactly look like a local."

Yeah, Sidda would probably have to give up her city wear for some island clothes. Less grunge and more practical for the seaside. She shrugged. "I just needed a change of scenery, needed to get away from home."

Jim nodded. "There are always some who need that. The sea is a popular place to run away to."

Sidda frowned; she didn't like the implication he made that she was running away. But Jim was already going through some log books so Sidda left and went to sit at a table in the corner of the store to fill out her application. No need to leave and come back later. Everything she needed to know was in her head.

Plus, if Sidda sat around long enough, the manager would have to come in at some point or another. She knew that that was the person she really needed to talk to if she wanted a job.

Unless Jim was a manager? Sidda glanced at him again. He was humming while writing in the log books, looking utterly happy and carefree despite the fact that he was working behind the counter. No, he really didn't look like someone who had to make weighty decisions daily. And he was rather young, around her own age. Probably manager one day if he stayed around long enough but not yet.

While Sidda was scribbling her information down at a slow, humanish pace, she heard the door to the shop open and close a few times as people came and went. Smells drifted in, mostly from the marina, so they were fish and salt water smells, thick and cool. Each time the door opened, Sidda glanced out of the corner of her eye to see who it was. It was always some tourist heading out on his charter or a local coming by to get bait, but Sidda always half-expected to see Alec in the doorway, wind-tossed from having ridden that motorcycle of his all the way to North Carolina.

Why didn't he just go back home? The last time she had called Robin her friend had said that Alec was still stubbornly on the chase. What did she have to do to the guy, kick him? This was for his own good, didn't her know that? She wished she could believe her own lies. It would've made things that much easier.

Sidda was mostly done with the paperwork when the door opened again. The sea-salt smell was strong and mixed with sweat, and when Sidda looked up, there was a man walking toward the counter, a smile on his face. Around six foot tall, he was wearing a ragged white t-shirt with the marina's logo on the back and an old, tattered baseball cap was sitting comfortably on his head. He had a white beard that contrasted greatly with his brown, leathery skin. He looked weather-worn but not weather-beaten; he was much too hardy-looking for that, especially with his round, taut belly.

"Jim! Jim, where's that Peterson group?" the man asked in a voice that fit his girth. He threw a wink in Sidda's direction. "You been distractin' him from his work, missy?"

Ah, so this was the manager. In charge, at ease, demanding, and slightly harassed-looking, the man just seemed to fit the bill for the manager of a marina.

"No, sir," Sidda replied as she stood up, picking the papers off the table. "I've been filling out my application, like I was told."

"An application?" The man turned toward Jim, one eyebrow raised. "Didn't know we needed anyone in the store or the restaurant."

Jim held up his hands. "We don't, but that's not what she's applying for."

"I'd rather work on one of the boats," Sidda said, sparing Jim from having to explain the situation. "I worked on a few ships before, down in Georgia, and I thought I'd give it a try here."

The manager looked her up and down, already starting to shake his head. Sidda sighed. Why did they always assume that short meant weak? "I can haul rope, work a motor, fix an engine and lift a lot more than you think I can." She rolled her eyes and gave a big, Southern smile. "I can even toss a fisherman overboard, if you need me to."

"Is that so?" he asked, reaching up to rub his scruffy white beard.

"It's so," Sidda replied.

"Well, you certainly got some fire in you." He looked over her application as she handed it to him. A few minutes later, he looked back to Jim. "What do you think, boy? Should we give her a try?"

"I think it might be an idea," Jim said, grinning at Sidda.

The manager nodded. "Yeah, that may be an idea. I think there's an opening on Roger Collins rig, the _Dixon Dare_. He needs a new deck hand. You like the sound of that?"

"Sounds like an idea to me," Sidda said. She smiled at both of them, laying in a little borrowed Southern charm.

The manager smiled and stuck his hand out to her. "Pete Henderson. Welcome aboard."

-------------------------------

Everett moved along the back wall of the small, cramped room. It seemed like this rally of mutant-haters was finally coming to a close. If he could just make it a few more minutes without taking this whole crowd out…

Of course, that was why he had been sent. Max had called him out as a level-headed, rational X5, one who wouldn't fly into combat if a few racist things were said about transgenics. Technically speaking, any of the Manticore-trained transgenics should have been able to handle this mission, but ever since they had gotten out of Manticore, it seemed like most of the transgenics had given themselves over to their emotions instead of trying to think coolly.

Fights brought out more often in Terminal City than they ever had back in Manticore, but Everett believed part of that was because of a lack of things to do in T.C. and the extra freedom. Everett never participated in these fights; actually, he was the one who usually broke them up. Maybe that's why Max thought he would be good in this situation; he didn't lose his head when he was mad.

But that didn't mean he didn't have limits. When the humans had been talking about how the transgenics had been "spawning every day like slimy rabbits" and had muttering about exterminating the women first, Everett had almost jumped out of his seat and gutted the men who had mentioned it right there. For a moment all he could think about Mona's safety and the safety of their baby, but he had gotten himself under control, especially after Emma had shot him a split-second glance of concern from across the room where she was sitting with the other teenagers.

Besides himself, Max had sent along Twizzler and Emma to act as his brother and sister. The three of them had similar features, brown hair and dark eyes, so it was easy to pass as sibs, and who knows, they might have actually shared DNA. Everett trusted his partners; Twizzler was calm in every situation, and Emma was steady, not at all flighty like a lot of the X6 girls. He was glad he had these two on his mission; he was confident that neither of them was going to bust out into attack mode.

Someone patted him on the back as the speaker made another jarring remark about the disgusting disease that was the transgenic population. Everett ignored him and did another headcount of the room, just to be sure the numbers were right. There were almost two hundred humans in this room, which happened to be the basement of some burned out business office a few blocks from T.C. They wanted to be near the enemy, or that was their excuse.

Everett didn't understand these people. All night he had roamed around the room and heard about the dirty, nasty transgenics who were trying to take over the world with their superpowers. Supposedly transgenics could start fires with their mind and shoot lasers out of their eyes and, who knows, maybe they could fart out nuclear explosions. Idiots. These people knew absolutely nothing about transgenics. The dangerous thing was that the people around him were buying into this diatribe. There had been five speakers so far, and the only really intelligent one was talking right now. He knew how to whip up the crowd, get them shouting, work their emotions and even their logic. This man, this Jones guy, he was the real dangerous one around here.

"You won't know who they are," Jones said, his voice dropping to a low, soft tone. His eyes were deadly serious as he scanned the crowd, and if Everett was any judge of character, the man was finally coming to a close.

"They walk among us, concealing their true identities. They creep into your lives, they take your jobs, they steal your sons and daughters' hearts and lives. They mate and they create sick monstrosities whose sole purpose is to kill." Jones paused for dramatic effect. "And you will never know who they are."

He walked off the small, collapsible stage to stunned silence, moving slowly, meeting the eyes of many in the room, nodding his head as he and the other person acknowledged the seriousness of the situation. It was ridiculous. He looked at Everett, and Everett forced himself to smile and nod like everyone else. Good thing he had lots of Manticore Training behind him.

A slow murmur of conversation started up after he passed by, and no one really paid attention to the man who stood up to close the meeting with a remark or two and an offer to meet and talk with the speakers in the back of the room. As soon as it was over, Twizzler and Emma came over to Everett.

"Can we please go?" Twizzler said, his eyes flashing for a moment with annoyance. He glanced over at Jones, who was already talking to a few men in the back of the room. He was every inch the politician; wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and an easy smile. Someone that could appeal to everyone. But his eyes were cold.

"No," Everett said shortly. "We need to learn as much as we can about these people." He glanced at Twizzler and Emma. "You can go hang out with the other kids if you want."

Emma snorted. "I don't know, we may give ourselves away with our high intelligence level."

"She does have a point," Twizzler grinned. 'We don't exactly know a whole lot about being kids."

"Then be shy kids," Everett rolled his eyes. "I know you're trained to observe and pick up on mannerisms within moments. I'm sure you'll do fine." Everett frowned as he noticed a group of Ordinaries lurking nearby. "Now stop dropping character."

"Ok, big bro, we'll see you in a bit then." Twizzler grabbed Emma's hand and grinned as she flashed him an annoyed look.

"I'm not five," she yanked her hand out of his. "It's just creepy if you hold my hand."

"Look at that, you're doing such a good job of acting already."

Everett shook his head as the two headed off toward the other groups of kids. Sometimes kids, and especially teenagers, talked about things adults talked about, so it would actually be useful to have those two listening in. That was half the reason they'd been sent along.

Everett walked up to the group around Jones and slowly made his way in toward the guy until he was in shaking hands distance. He stood there for a moment, and that was all that took for Jones to notice him.

"Ah, hello, I don't believe we've met before."

"No, we haven't. My name is Mark," Everett said. It seemed like a nice, generic name.

"Jones," the man said in reply. The guy really did go by just his last name. How weird. "I hope you found encouragement and solidarity with others like yourself in this meeting."

Everett nodded and stuck his hands in his jacket to hide his clenched fists. "I did." He gave a curt nod. "In fact, I was hoping there was something more I could do to help the effort." The only way to find out what this dangerous man was really up to was to become a part of the inner circles.

The man studied him for a moment and then clasped his shoulder. "Stay after for a little bit and we'll talk to you."

Everett nodded and looked over at Twizzler and Emma. "Should I send my little brother and sister home?"

"Probably best," Jones agreed. Then he turned to another man, effectively dismissing Everett. Everett felt another surge of dislike but carefully schooled his expression to a blank look. Perhaps it would be dangerous to stay around alone with a bunch of transgenic haters, but he was pretty sure he was ok; there was no reason for his cover to be blown. He would just have to be careful to appear normal with everything he said and did.

"Hey, you two," he called out Emma and Twizzler. They came over to him, both making faces.

"Thank goodness," Emma said.

"I'm going to stay here a while; you two leave when the other kids do, ok?" It actually looked like most of the people were making their way out anyways. They wouldn't be able to talk freely in a moment or two. It would be too easy for someone to listen in on them.

Twizzler crossed his arms. "We're a team."

Everett crossed his as well. "And we're also individuals with individual strengths. I can stay and learn more. You can't."

Twizzler and Emma both glanced at each other. "Fine, but we're hanging around outside," Emma said stubbornly. "We can't just leave you in this nest of crazies." Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper at the end.

"We'll stay hidden," Twizzler added before Everett could object. Everett sighed; he knew that there was going to be convincing the two not to stay. They weren't normal kids. And Twizzler wasn't really a kid at all, he just looked the part.

"Fine," Everett muttered, "But stay—"

"Out of sight, we know," Twizzler said, waving a hand at Everett's over-protective nature. He slung an arm around Emma's shoulders. "I'll keep an eye on the squirt."

Emma shrugged him off. "You're a jerk."

He grinned at her. "Aw, come on, Em, at least I'm cute."

"As if."

"Go on, both of you," Everett said, nodding toward the other teenagers who were milling around the doorway, waiting for the two newcomers, "I'll be home later, all right?"

He watched as Twizzler and Emma left with the rest of the teenagers. They would eventually break off from the others and stay around the building, hiding in the shadows while they waited for him. He wished they would both just go back to Terminal City and wait where it was safer, but he was also comforted by their presence. Still, he didn't want them around these men; he would rather face them alone than put Twizzler and Emma in danger.

---------------------

"How's translating coming?"

Logan glanced up from his paper as Max draped her arms over his shoulder, her hands running down the front of his shirt as she pressed her cheek against his. He smiled. Damn, but life was good now that they had the Cure.

"Fine, I guess," he said, shrugging his shoulder, "There're just a few words that I can't find in any of the books." He sighed as she reached forward and grabbed at the papers. He was trying to translate the Minoan symbols that had appeared on Max a few months ago, but the going was slow.

"The second, something, is the hope of all, a child in light sings for the one, the one reads and acts, knows, something something?" She put the paper back on the desk and snorted. "Wow, Logan, that was very enlightening."

Logan rolled his eyes as she pulled away from him, her lips brushing for a moment against his cheek. "I'm trying, but for some reason, I skipped Minoan 101 back in college. Can't imagine why."

"Sounds like you made a bad decision," Max said. There was worry mingled with the laughter in her eyes, and Logan could guess the reason for the negative emotion.

"Bad news from Everett?" he asked. While he had been here, trying to figure out what the hell Max's tattoos meant in plain English, Max had been at headquarters, waiting for the small, secret away team to come back and report. Since Max was here and not looking extremely upset or dismayed, nothing terrible had happened; no one was dead or in the infirmary.

"Nothing worse than the usual," Max said, "Just people wanting to exterminate the transgenic population. No big."

"Ah. Glad to know that's all."

A half-smile darted across her face. Logan could always say the right thing to make her feel better. She walked over to their small kitchen table and fingered the small wooden bowl that was currently their center piece. A vase of fresh flowers would be preferable, but since the transgenics were supposed to be staying safely within the gates until the Familiar problem was dealt with…Yeah, like the government was actually going to be able to handle the Familiars. Most of the suits were unwilling to even admit that the government could have been infiltrated by the psycho crazy group of eugenic-pushing nutcases, and that left them open to any inside manipulation. Dealing with the government sucked.

"I just don't get why they think we're such a threat, you know?" Max said, trying to keep her anger in check. "We're just people."

Logan put down his pen and turned his chair toward her. "Max, that's not all you are."

She growled under her breath as if to support what he said. "I know, but that doesn't mean we're just going to go around offing babies and eating people and whatever else they say we're going to do." She threw a long, hard glare at the window. "They don't even know us."

"They're just afraid," Logan said slowly, trying to calm her down, "They don't understand—"

"We don't understand either," Max snapped back. There was a moment of silence as Logan watched Max try to contain her frustration. Eventually, he stood up and walked over to her. He put his arms around her and held her against him, wishing he could do more than offer physical comfort. There was nothing he could say to make it better, though, and he wasn't going to lie to her, so he just held her.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: As promised, here's the second update! Thank you to peculiarxemma, x5 416, nattylovesu, Alexa, Sandra, and TwilightEclps for reviewing Chapter 10! Please enjoy Chapter 12; hope it lives up to any expectations. ^_~

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 12

"Krit, if you don't get that out of my face…"

"Come on, the camera loves you, Robin," Krit said, his voice chipper while hers had been dark and threatening. "Now, let's see it, do something exciting."

Robin glanced up at him from the sketch she was working on. They were both in one of the rooms in the Cultural Center, one that was close to the first floor conference room where they were supposed to be having a meeting about the building in a few minutes. It was general stuff, such as what to do with everyone now that T.C. was under strict lockdown. Robin was probably going to propose a rotating schedule so everybody got the time they needed or wanted in the rooms.

Krit had been at this for the past few days, and by this she meant recording every move that his friends made with a camera that he and Dix had reconstructed from almost scratch. It was becoming a little more than aggravating. Robin shoved the camera away. "I said no."

"You're no fun, Robin," Krit said, moving away from her, but he closed the camera's small side screen and lowered it. "It's for the TV show."

"We're not having a TV show," Robin replied, "That idea was shot down forever ago." She leaned over her sketch and set her pencil back on the paper. She was drawing the room that they were in, minus herself and Krit. While her first calling was decorating, she was really starting to get into sketch art; she wasn't half bad, and perhaps if she kept at it, she'd eventually be a lot better. But if Krit didn't leave her alone…

"But I can still make home videos," Krit replied, a cheeky smile on his face. He turned the powered down camcorder back at her. "Wouldn't you like to capture these memories?"

"Of me scowling and yelling at you?" Robin raised her eyebrows but didn't look up from her drawing. "I don't think I want that on tape."

"But it already is," Krit replied, "For future generations." There was a cheerful ding from the camera as he turned it back on. "Taylor can see just how mean her mother's always been to dear Uncle Krit."

Robin let out an exasperated sigh and started to turn around to whack Krit, but there was a flash of blond and suddenly the camera was gone. Syl stood nearby, the camera in her hands and now trained on Krit.

"Syl, no, that's my camera," Krit said, his voice going hard and serious. He was normally laidback, but not when it came to his tech. He reached for the camera, but the sprightly blond skipped out of the way.

"What, Krit? Don't like being filmed?" she taunted. Robin watched with a smile as Syl stayed one step ahead of Krit while the tall transgenic tried to get his camera back.

"I just like doing the filming," Krit replied, "And I don't like you holding the camera."

"And now you know how we feel," Robin said. She stood up from the desk she had been sitting at and gathered up her supplies. She tossed them into a small black bag at her feet before carefully sliding her sketchbook in after the pencils.

"Give it back, Syl!" Krit said, lunging for Syl. Laughing, she darted out of range and then out into the hall. Krit followed, blurring after her while shouting for her to give the camera back. While Robin was still packing her bag, Seth stuck his head into the doorway and looked around the now empty room.

"Are they gone?"

"Are you speaking about our friends or the two terrors that just ran out here?" she replied, giving him a warm smile. He chuckled and leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Aren't they the same thing?"

"Depends on your point of view on the situation," she said, grinning back at him. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "What's yours?"

"Undecided," he replied, kissing her back on the lips.

Together, they walked down the hall to the meeting room, exchanging pleasantries about their day, which had been overall boring. The guards were keeping the Ordinaries back and for now the Ordinaries were keeping a safe distance away from the guards with machine guns, but there was a palpable tension in Terminal City and the surrounding area. The peace seemed more like a bad cover-up than the truth.

When they reached the meeting room, most of the supervising team from the Cultural Center was there. The room itself was pretty sparse; Robin hadn't gotten a hold of it yet for a paint job. Joshua was proudly sitting at the head of the table, spinning his chair around in a lazy circle while he smiled at the simple pleasure.

"Everybody here?" he asked when he saw Robin and Seth walk in. He beamed at them and then leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "We get started now, all right?"

Across the table, Syl and Krit were still bickering over his improper use of the camera, but now Krit had the camera back. He was holding it protectively to his chest and scowling at Syl while she fussed quietly at him and threatened to break the camera.

Seth sighed and shared a long-suffering look with Robin. Maybe this chaos about filming or not would stop soon enough. Was it so hard to just go on with their lives and not try to play themselves off as innocents to the human population? Better they know what transgenics were and learn to live with it.

When he sat down, Seth was automatically aware that something was wrong, but even as he tried to stand up, the chair went to pieces under him. He made a grab for the table, and his hand landed on a few papers instead, giving him absolutely no purchase. He ended up lying on his back on the floor, glaring up at the ceiling while the papers floated down next to him. In the next moment, he was up and scowling at the offending, landfill-scavenged chair while Robin asked him carefully if he was okay.

"Shit," Krit complained, "Why can't you guys do hilarious stuff when I have the camera rolling?"

------------------------------

The _Dixon Dare_ chugged into the marina, its enormous twin motors rotating at the same slow speed as they moved through the water. When the boat was close enough to the dock, Sidda jumped off the deck, a rope in one hand. She landed nimbly on the balls of her bare feet, her shoes left behind on the boat.

It had been three and a half weeks since she left Terminal City, one and a half spent on the road while the other two she had been diligently working at Teach's Marina. So far, Sidda hadn't experienced many of the problems that Sibil had said she would. Okay, so she had been sorta dizzy a few times and the other day she had to quit work early because of a headache from hell, but besides that, she was basically fine. The only thing that was different about her body was that, uh, her bra was a little tighter, and she had acquired a slight tan from so much time spent out on the ocean and the sound.

She was having a perfectly wonderful time…except for the fact that she missed Alec so much that it physically hurt. And everyone in T.C., especially Seth and Robin. What she wouldn't have given for one of Robin's home-cooked meals and a long talk after dessert.

"Sidda, tie 'er off tight!" Roger Collins shouted from the helm of the charter boat. He was a good man, an easy-going captain who had welcomed her after he figured out she could lift a couple coolers full of ice and dead fish without whining. As long as she pulled her own weight, he was fine with her.

Sidda nodded and bent down to tie off the first rope. Bobby Jonson, Collins' other deckhand, was leaning against the side of the boat above her, watching her work while he waited to throw her the second line.

"Yeah, Sidda," he called, giving a low whistle, "Work that nice little ass!" Bobby considered himself something of a charmer, which was about as far from the real deal as possible. He was usually just stupid and arrogant, or at least Sidda thought so, and both Collins and Sidda spent too much time on ship yelling at him to stop harassing the female customers. If his father hadn't been friends with Pete, the manager of the marina, he wouldn't have been working on any of the ships. "Seriously, Sidda, you me and one night, that's all it'd take."

Sidda rolled her eyes and kept working, ignoring his comments. Jerk.

"What the…hey…aghhhh!" Splash.

Sidda smirked to herself as she finished tying off the knot. Obviously Collins had decided that was enough from Bobby and had pushed him overboard. She would have to thank him for that later; she was glad somebody besides her had decided it was time for Bobby to be taught a lesson in manners.

"Serves you right," Sidda muttered as she stood up. Smiling, she looked up at Collins. "You could've let him throw me the rope first."

She shaded her eyes against the glare of the sun…For some reason, Collins' silhouette looked weird. Nothing like the forty-year-old shadow she was used to.

"I can throw it to you." It was a familiar voice that she hadn't been expecting but needed to hear. Sidda froze at the cold tones in the voice that was normally so warm and full of love. A second too late, and she knew why Collins' silhouette was weird. Collins was still where he had been before, staring open-mouthed at the stranger who had appeared out of nowhere on his ship.

Sidda couldn't help an involuntary quirky smile at the thought of Alec pushing Bobby off the ship. And then she remembered. Alec. Not supposed to be there. Bad, bad, bad.

God, she had missed him.

"Here." He tossed her the rope, and Sidda automatically caught it, though she just stood there, not knowing how to react, as she watched him jump off the ship and land lightly onto the dock. Damn, but she had forgotten just how good he could look. And apparently weeks of searching for her had given him a nice, beautiful golden tan. Probably from scouring the South for so long.

"Alec?" She wanted to say something sarcastic, something witty…just something, but her mouth wasn't willing to form words. Where was all her bantering now?

Alec suddenly smiled at her and stepped forward. He brushed a few stray strands of hair off her face, and her skin felt like she had been burned where his fingertips touched her cheek. "I'd tie the boat for you but I don't know how," he said, "But let's hurry and get out of here."

Sidda unconsciously leaned into his touch then quickly stepped back. She couldn't do this. He couldn't be here. This wasn't where he was supposed to be. She glanced back at Collins, who was still staring, and at Bobby, who was struggling out of the water and onto the dock. She didn't want to talk about this right here in front of them though. If she was lucky she'd manage to get Alec to go away and still keep her job.

But oh, she didn't really want Alec to go away…this was so hard, so unfair. Damn it, why'd he have to follow her? And why hadn't Robin warned her that he was so close?

Sidda quickly bent to secure the second rope.

"I'd suggest you stay in the water," Alec told Bobby dangerously. Crap, so he was still angry. Wonderful.

"What gives you the right to order me around?" a dripping Bobby blustered. He was struggling to pull himself up onto the dock.

Alec smirked, walked over and nudged him in the shoulder with his foot. "The ability to do that," he said as Bobby fell back into the water.

"Collins, umm, I'll be back," Sidda said, shooting a sideways glance at Alec. Alec raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "I think."

Sidda and Alec moved a little further away from the dock. Sidda intended to stop and talk there, but Alec kept walking toward her car, which a motorcycle was parked next to. Great mode of cross-country transportation… "Alec," Sidda said sharply. If she went with him now, she wasn't sure she'd be able to tear herself away again.

Alec frowned and came back to stand in front of her. When he looked down at her, she couldn't remember exactly what she was going to say, so she resorted to the first thing that came to mind. "A motorcycle? Really? What'd you go through, your midlife crisis?" Harassment was such a great thing to hide behind sometimes…

He jerked a thumb back at her car. "A convertible? Really?" he mimicked her as he reached down and took her by the shoulders. "This isn't about vehicles, Sidda."

"You wanna talk, we can talk here," Sidda said firmly. Otherwise, she didn't know if she could tell him to leave.

"We can talk wherever you're staying," Alec said after a moment. His eyes were dark. "But I'm not walking away from you again, Sidda. I can't…" He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I can't talk about this here. But we need to talk. Please come with me." He was looming over, and Sidda was suddenly reminded very, very much that he was a man, and a man who was much taller than her at that. And he had muscles, and that smartass, kissable mouth, and he had driven all the way across the freakin' country for her… Oh, he was so amazing…

Sidda thought for a second about what Alec was saying. There was something important there, the way he looked so worried… she just wanted to wrap her arms around him and hug him and kiss him and promise everything would be all right. But she just couldn't. But she supposed… she had enough self-control for the one thing he was asking, right? It was her place, after all. Still technically on her turf.

"Ok," she said, not looking at his eyes. She might give in if she stared at them too long. "But it's nothing special, so don't expect the Taj Mahal."

He was able to surprise her because she wasn't looking in. Another moment and one of Alec's arms was around her, his hand gripping her back tightly. The other hand came up to caress her face and turn it to face him. And then he was kissing her.

Wow… wow…damn it, but that felt too good. It felt so right to just melt into his arms, let him take control. But she couldn't do that! "No," she said softly. Alec ignored her and Sidda shook her head and spoke a bit louder. "No Alec, don't make this hard."

"Why does this have to be hard?" Alec's voice was pain-filled, and it just about broke Sidda's heart.

"I'll explain, I promise," Sidda said. She disentangled herself from Alec's arms and started toward her car, but Alec's hand shot out and he caught her elbow.

"My motorcycle," he said, staring her down. Sidda didn't have the strength to argue with him at the moment, so she simply followed him to the bike and climbed on behind him. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek against his back, enjoying the feel of his strength beneath her. At least he couldn't see her being weak now.

"You don't even know where I live," she mumbled as he revved up the powerful engine. He rolled his shoulders but didn't glance back at her.

"Then tell me." Again, it was a command, not really a request. He really didn't sound happy with her…but then again, she doubted that she would be a ball of sunshine after trailing after someone for about three weeks.

She muttered the directions to him as he drove, his hands tight around the handlebars. His muscles were tense beneath her, and she normally would have tried to calm him down, but she had no idea how to at this moment. She had never made him this angry before, so it was all new to her.

When they arrived at her small, sage green bungalow that was tucked into a back corner of the island about ten minutes from the marina, she slid off the motorcycle and landed awkwardly on the ground. She felt lightheaded, so she leaned back against the motorcycle, waiting for Alec to get off. He glanced at her for a moment, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Are you okay?" His voice was softer, worried. She felt his fingers trail against her cheek, and she turned her head away, sighing.

"Yeah, it's fine," she said, stepping forward. Better not to get attached again. She was determined to explain this to him, somehow, and get him to understand that he didn't have to stay with her, she would be fine without him. Maybe she would be able to go back to Terminal City and live there again without worrying that he was staying with her out of duty, not desire. She just hoped there was some way they could be together without that worry.

Walking past him, she took the steps up onto the tiny porch, complete with white porch swing. She hadn't bothered to lock the door, so it swung open at her touch. He followed inside, so close it was making her feel like she had a second shadow. The house was small, just the bedroom, a bathroom and a combined kitchen/living room area.

"Um, do you want something to drink?" she asked. Oh, so awkward. She could feel a blush coming, creeping up her throat and blossoming over her cheeks.

"No," Alec said, "I don't." He walked over and sat down on the couch. His hazel eyes were expectant. "Come here."

Slowly, she crossed toward the couch and started to sit down on the other end, but he caught her by the waist and pulled her into his lap, one arm clamping down across her waist like a vice. Sighing, she put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. His heartbeat was rapid, like he was running a race or had finally gotten to the finish line. Oh, Alec…

"Why?"

Such a simple question, but the answer was so difficult.

"It's really complicated."

"Try me."

No, not yet, she had to change where this was going, she wasn't ready yet. "I told you that I was going to be fine," she said, "Don't you trust me?"

"Yeah, Sidda, I do," Alec said, leaning back against the couch cushions. She tried to move off his lap so he could be more comfortable, but his grip around her waist tightened. "But do you know how damn hard it was on me for you to just disappear like that? And on the same day we got attacked by Familiars." He stared straight ahead, scowling.

Sidda winced. Yeah, that had been awfully bad timing, but not her fault, not technically. She had tried to plan it out properly. "I never wanted to hurt you," she mumbled.

"That would've been best avoided by staying in T.C.," he said, glancing down at her.

Sidda pulled back forcefully and pressed her hand to his chest. "Come on, work with me here! You can't just stone-face me, or I'm going to pull Alpha status and throw you out of my house."

He raised an eyebrow at her, the ghost of a smile on his face. "What if I pull rank on you?"

"What rank? I'm the same rank as you," Sidda said. Oh, a smile, bless the smile!

Alec smirked. "But I'm the male in this relationship."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't matter."

"I think it does," Alec said, gently tightening his grip on her. "And because of that, I also think you owe me an explanation." He looked at her. "Now would be a great time for that."

She pressed her face into his neck, trying not to hyperventilate. Why did he have to come after her, it had been so mostly easy up until now. "Can't we just have angry make-up sex?" she squeaked into his skin.

"Afterwards, sure," Alec said, tapping his fingers on her back, "But neither of us are leaving this couch until you tell me what's wrong."

"We could have angry make-up sex on the couch…" Sidda mumbled.

"Sidda."

Sidda slid off his lap with one fluid motion and stood in front of him, her arms crossed as she rocked back on her heels. Her head was spinning; this was not making her happy. Maybe it would be best to get this over with in one quick spurt. Just tell him everything, right now, get it over with, come on!

"I left because I didn't want to force you to stay with me just because I'm having your kid."

She shoved her hair back behind her ears and took a deep, calming breath to put air back in her lungs and stop the tears that were trying to squeeze out of the corners of her eyes. She looked at the ceiling, afraid to see the expression on his face. "So, please, Alec, look, you don't have to feel like you're locked down with me or anything, I don't want you to do anything you don't want to…"

Sidda twisted her hands nervously as Alec simply stared at her. She honestly had no idea what he was going to say, and it unnerved her that she couldn't read him when normally it was so easy for her.

"Sidda," Alec breathed. He stood up in a quick motion that was nearly as fluid as hers had been, and he crossed over to her. Before she could move his arms were around her and his forehead was resting on the top of her head. He sighed, and his breath ruffled against her hair. "Is that really why you left?"

"Um, yeah…" Sidda momentarily forgot how bad she felt about leading Alec around for weeks. "That's what I just told you, smartass," she said, poking him in the chest.

Alec laughed, moving her hair again. His breath felt sort of nice…really nice. "Sidda, Sidda, Sidda."

"Alec, Alec, Alec." She liked laughing Alec. Laughing was good. Laughing meant he wasn't too mad at her.

Alec leaned back and looked at her, then gently touched her cheek with his hand. "So you left because you're pregnant?" He had a slightly weird, half-cocked, crazy grin on his face. What was wrong with him? She was pregnant. He should be freaking out right now. Completely losing it. Right?

"Yes…." Sidda said slowly. The explosion was coming, it had to be, she knew it.

"Sidda." Alec took another deep breath, then kissed her. Fully, deeply, inescapably kissed her. Sidda was pretty sure she felt shock waves travel through her body. It was amazing what weeks of total abstinence could do to a person. She melted against him and returned his kiss, eager to feel and taste him again. Yes, no more talking. That sounded good. One more night with Alec.

But Alec broke apart. He was still grinning. "Sidda, I spent weeks searching for you, and I never knew why. I mean, I didn't know why you left. I couldn't figure it out, except that somehow I had messed up somewhere."

He shook his head at Sidda when she opened her mouth to speak, and he placed a soft, hushing kiss against her lips. "It's a good thing I love how ridiculous you can be," he said. "It's awesome that we're having a kid. I don't feel chained to you at all. If I did, I would've let you know. I've never felt chained to you. I'm excited, Sidda…I want to have what Robin and Seth have. Our own family." He smirked now. "Even if I'm psychotic , and you're a schizo, and our kid's going to be a psychopathic chronic liar."

Okay, maybe Sidda was crazy. Was she hearing him right? Alec wanted to settle down? Her Alec? That just didn't make any sense. Or… "But Alec, you… you're not the get married, let's have babies kind of guy. I know that. It's okay."

Alec sat back down on the couch, pulling Sidda with him so that she was kneeling on his lap. "I think I'm totally that guy when it's with the right girl," he said, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. "I…" he hesitated, and Sidda was surprised to see how unsure he looked. Usually he was so confident of what he was doing.

"If you were worried I wasn't ready to commit, don't think about it anymore. When you left…I realized how scared I was of losing you. I can't lose you. And I won't let you lose me." He grinned for a second and then gave her a stern look. "So you really don't have a choice. I'm taking you back to Terminal City to be with me." His grip on her waist tightened a fraction, as if he was scared she was going to bolt.

In any other situation, Sidda might be annoyed at Alec's commanding tone. But right now…she was just happy he wanted to stay with her. Wanted her. Wanted to be with her, and the baby.

"So you don't mind the baby?" she asked cautiously. She had to make sure. She narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on both sides of his face. "Alec, be serious."

He grabbed her hands and yanked her forward so he could put his arms around her and hold her closer. "I am serious. And shit, no, I'm excited about the baby." He paused for a moment as if to let the words sink in. "It sort of blows my mind…" Alec shook his head. "I never even suspected." He played his fingers across her thigh. "I thought you were on birth control."

"I was," Sidda said dryly. "But heat sort of crept up on me unexpectedly."

"Ahhhh." Alec moved her so that she was resting against his chest, and then he rested his head on hers again. Sidda rather liked this position, she thought, as she drunk in his warm scent. Such a heady vintage to her thirsty, lonely self.

They stayed like that for a moment, just quiet and comfortable with each other. Sidda was almost half-asleep when Alec suddenly kissed her forehead.

"Sidda?"

"I'm awake," she mumbled, pressing her forehead against his chest. "Barely."

Alec's laugh was a low rumble against her. "Just so you know…in case you ever consider taking off again…since you're crazy like that…"

"Alec! I swear I'm not…" Sidda sat up to reassure him, but Alec pulled her back.

"Like I said, just in case." He smiled at her. "I want you to know something before you do."

"Mhmm?" Sidda eyed Alec, wondering what was up Alec's sleeve now. He wouldn't be telling her whatever it was unless he was sure that it would have a hold on her.

"I love you."

Sidda sighed and leaned back against him, at ease and completely safe for the first time in weeks. "I love you, too."


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you so very much for taking a look at this story! Thank you very much to TwilightEclps, Winchester girl, Kay, peculiarxemma (double that, lol ^_~), Deanna, and nattylovesu for reviewing the last chapter! You're all amazing, and I hope you enjoy this update!

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 13

Robin smeared paint over the walls, the roller spreading the pretty mossy green color wherever it went. She had the windows open, letting the paint fumes dissipate into the dirty, Seattle air. In this small room in the back of Alec and Sidda's apartment, she was busy decorating. Syl was babysitting Taylor, mainly because Robin didn't want to expose her to all the paint smells. Some of the necessary furniture for the room was already acquired and stashed in one of the buildings in T.C. that was still abandoned, but she needed to do was finish the painting and let it dry before setting it up. No one would be able to say that Alec and Sidda's baby had a bad baby room; this kid was going to be spoiled by its self-appointed aunt, no matter what.

She hadn't heard from either Alec or Sidda for about a week now, so she was guessing that Alec had found her and was convincing her to come home. Sidda could be terribly stubborn when she felt like it, but hopefully Alec had proved whatever Sidda wanted him to prove. Robin was of the opinion that the whole situation was ridiculous; of course Alec would want the baby and would still want Sidda. Sidda was just being moronic this time. Alec would bring her home, and all would be right with the world again.

Turning around, she dipped the roller back into the paint. She really hoped Sidda and Alec liked this baby room. She knew that Sidda would probably need time to get used to it, but she had a good number of months to get comfortable with it.

She was about to start painting again when a noise at the door made her look up. Seth was standing in the doorway, leaning against it, while he gave the room an appraising look. Robin nearly dropped the roller into the paint pan. What was he doing here?! He was supposed to be at work or something.

"Uh, hey, Seth." As far as Robin knew, Seth had no idea about Sidda's baby or her own new project. Now he was probably going to be somewhat suspicious.

He looked around the room one more time and stepped inside, motioning to the walls. "Get tired of the color?" The look on his face was guarded, and it made Robin worried.

She nodded and smiled as she gestured at the green paint. "Yeah, it was pretty drab in here. I thought I'd fix it up, give Sidda and Alec a nice sitting room or guest bedroom, whatever they feel like." Sure, that was it, Seth, go with that.

He walked around the perimeter of the room, coming closer to her with each step. "It's sort of small for both of those rooms, isn't it?"

Robin turned back around and started painting the wall again. "No, not really. It could make a really nice guest room." Green striped across the walls. "You're distracting me on purpose, Seth."

"It's still a small guest room," Seth said, stepping so close to her that he was only about a foot away. He reached out and grabbed the roller handle, stilling her hand. "For a really small guest, I'm guessing?"

Robin whirled around to face him. "I didn't tell you! If Sidda ever asks—"

"I found out for myself."

How would he…This morning, he had mentioned something about logging hours at the infirmary. Sneaky devil. "You looked up her medical files, didn't you?"

A half-smile ran across his face. "I'm a T.C. doctor, we can do those sorts of things. I've been refraining for a long time." Seth sighed and released the roller. "Robin. How long have you known?" He wiped his face with his hand and turned toward her, his eyes dark. She watched his facial expression carefully, reading it. Something was wrong. He wasn't just mad at her, there was something else.

"Ever since Sidda left," she answered, giving a sheepish smile. "But it's all okay, because Alec's going to bring her back soon. Or at least I think so, don't you?"

"Do you know where she is?" He asked the question slowly and carefully, like he was uncertain of how to approach the topic. Okay, Seth was acting sort of weird.

"If I did, I would've already told Alec," Robin said. She put the roller back down into the paint pan. "Is there something wrong?"

He was too quick to shake his head. "No, it's just, it would probably be best if Sidda came home soon." His eyes drifted over to the window, as if he didn't want to meet her gaze. Avoidance was not usually what Seth did, except when he really wanted to skirt around telling Robin something.

"Why?" Robin asked. She put her hands on her hips and frowned at him. "Am I missing something?"

Seth turned toward her with a serious expression. "It'll be fine, Robin, don't worry. Sidda would just be better off here."

She was very suspicious now. Robin wasn't sure how to convince Seth to give up whatever information he was holding back; when the man made his mind up about something, it was usually pretty hard to change it. She turned back to the paint roller and picked it up, slowly putting more paint on the walls. She knew her nonchalance was going to bother Seth.

"Aren't you going to call her?" Seth asked uneasily.

"Can't," Robin said with a shrug. "I told you, she won't give me a reliable phone number. " She glanced at Seth out of the corner of her eyes. "I mean, I'm sure I could get a hold of someone who could get her for me if I had a good reason for bothering her, but since you won't tell me anything…" Robin shrugged again and dipped her roller back into the paint before going to add some more of the lovely green color to the walls.

Seth stared at Robin for a moment then crossed his arms. "I'm not telling you anything," he said firmly. Of course he'd seen through her ruse. Robin sighed and gave up with the painting. She set the roller down and turned around to face him again.

"Seth, this is my best friend we're talking about. What's wrong with her? It's obviously not something good that you found; you wouldn't worry about her being here if it had been."

"It's just… stuff that, well, it would be best to keep an eye on her. Be sure that she was somewhere with doctors in case anything goes wrong."

Robin growled under her breath; every now and then Seth could be extremely frustrating. "You are unbelievable," she said, striding for the door.

Seth moved to intercept her. "Robin, look, I'm just trying…I shouldn't have looked at her files in the first place, and I'm trying not to create an even worse breach of doctor-patient confidentiality."

"Well, you're not her doctor, so you already did!" Robin bit her lip; worry for her friend had been building for several weeks now and was starting to overwhelm her. She could feel tears threatening, so she looked away to try and hide them from Seth. It only made it worse that she was taking her worry out on Seth. He didn't deserve it, but he happened to be the bearer of bad news. Painting wouldn't suffice to calm her anymore, not right now.

Seth's arms wrapped around Robin, and she immediately pressed herself against his shoulder, letting his scent and the soothing movement of his hand on her back calm her down.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "Look, I…"

"No, no, don't tell me," she said. "If Sidda didn't tell me whatever it is, she probably wouldn't want me to know." Robin took a deep breath and looked up, attempting a smile. "And if I'm right and she's coming back soon, I don't want her to be angry at me for finding out."

Seth chuckled and kissed Robin's forehead. "She would find out, too."

"I know," Robin said crossly. "I'm horrible at keeping secrets from the two of you." She shook her head, "If Alec ever joins that small list, I'm doomed…" She started towards the living room of Alec and Sidda's apartment, and Seth followed her.

"You aren't going to finish painting?" he asked.

"I'm going to try and call Sidda," Robin said. "She gave me a contact number to someone who sees her every now and then. I only got it after swearing not to give it to anyone else, not to look up its location, and to only use it in an emergency." She paused after flipping open her cell phone and looked at Seth. "This is an emergency, right?"

"Well, not an emergency right now, but we won't know when it will be an emergency until something happens," Seth said. "Better that she get here sooner than later."

Robin nodded, the phone already pressed to her ear. Seth could hear the dial tone, and he frowned as a man's answering machine came on. Robin clicked the phone shut. "Wonderful," she said. "No idea what's wrong with Sidda and whoever the contact point is supposed to be won't answer their phone."

"We could try again later," Seth started, but the sound of the doorknob turning caught his hearing, and he cocked an eyebrow at Robin. Maybe someone else was planning on crashing the apartment?

They both turned as the door opened, and Robin practically threw herself across the room as Sidda stuck her head in the doorway.

"Sidda!" Robin wrapped her arms around her friend. "Oh my gosh, I was so worried…" Robin glanced at Seth then quickly moved away from Sidda. "Oops, sorry, forgot about the…" She stopped and looked at Alec for a moment, then back at Sidda, trying to silently ask if Sidda had told him yet.

Sidda laughed and leaned against Alec. "It's ok, I told him about the baby," she assured her friend. She glanced over at Seth and grinned. "By the way, Seth, I'm pregnant."

"Really now…" Seth managed to look properly surprised, but it might not have been enough to fool the escape-artist who had been trained to read subtle expressions.

"Why were you worried about her?" Alec asked, looking at Robin with a quizzical expression. He glanced at Sidda. "I thought you guys were keeping in touch."

"Not as much as I would have liked," Robin said, giving Sidda accusing look. "Especially considering your point of contact wouldn't even answer."

Sidda rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop being ridiculous. " She frowned for a second and then looked at Robin. "You called Collins?" she asked. "Why the heck did you do that?"

"Collins?" Alec asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"The nice older man on the ship that you didn't punch," Sidda said, moving more into the apartment so that she could set her bag down, and Alec could close the door behind her.

"Alec punched someone?" Robin asked, her eyes lighting up. "Do tell!"

"So, um, hey, Seth," Alec said, clapping Seth on the shoulder and obviously trying to avoid the subject.

Seth chuckled. "Got a little bit of a temper with someone?"

Alec frowned and shot Sidda an annoyed look. "He was being rude to Sidda."

"It was sort of awesome," Sidda admitted, "Just when I was wishing bad things on him, there he goes, into the water."

"And then I was there," Alec added.

Sidda rolled her eyes. "Yes, the highlight of the day. Alec was there."

"Of course it was," Alec said, going to grab a beer from the fridge, "I'm your freakin' knight in genetically-modified armor, remember?" He straightened up and looked at Robin over the refrigerator door. "So, before I forget, why were you worrying about Sidda?"

Robin glanced at Seth, than Sidda. Sidda was frowning, but she didn't look extremely concerned. So maybe it was okay to mention it? "Well, I didn't know exactly," Robin said, glancing at Seth again. "Seth wouldn't tell me. But he looked at your medical files, and…"

"Oh, hey, I'm starving, is there any food left in the fridge?" Sidda said, suddenly moving away from the table that she'd been half-sitting on and moving toward Alec.

"Nothing that would interest you," Alec said, firmly closing the refrigerator door. "What's going on, Sidda?" he asked, setting his beer down on the counter.

"Nothing." Sidda's eyes darted back and forth frantically, and that was when she caught sight of the partially painted room though the open door. "What is that?" she asked. Robin moved to intercept her, but Sidda was too quick for her. She had the door open all the way in a few seconds, and she turned and looked at Robin. "You're redecorating our apartment?"

Robin nodded vigorously, hoping Sidda would just accept that Robin had felt the need to redecorate something. "It was just so bland…"

"Hey, we're still having a discussion," Alec said to Sidda, following the rest of them to the room.

Sidda gave him an anxious look, then turned back to frown at the room. "Yeah, sure, of course," she muttered quickly. "As soon as I scold Robin for randomly redecorating our apartment."

Alec glanced into the room, and a one-sided smile crept across his face. "Hey, are you making a baby room already?" he asked, giving Robin a suspicious but amused look. He had jumped way too quickly to the correct conclusion.

Sidda froze at the suggestion, and her eyes widened. Of course she'd been suspecting that was what it was about, but hearing Alec actually say it… And they had been going through her files. And now there was a baby room. And everything was happening much too fast. She was feeling tired already from all the driving, and now light-headed, disconnected...cold…

"Umm…maybe?" Robin said, answering Alec's question. She looked at Sidda worriedly, waiting for her to flip out about the room. But she was silent, just staring at the room with wide eyes.

"Sidda?" Alec asked nervously, moving to stand in front of her. "Hey…"

"I can paint the room back if you don't want it that way," Robin said quickly. "Please don't get upset Sidda, I can paint it back, it's okay."

Sidda collapsed. Her eyes rolled back, and her knees buckled. Luckily, Alec was standing in front of her and caught her. "Sidda," he half-choked, pulling her limp body close to him. She didn't open her eyes. "Sidda!" He looked up at Seth, his eyes full of wordless panic.

---------------------------

"I'm fine, please stop looking at me like that," Sidda said, frowning at Alec with the same level of intensity as he was staring at her with worry. His hand was wrapped around her right arm, clutching it like if he let go for a moment she was going to hit the floor again.

Her cheeks grew hot with remembered shame. She had woken up only moments after she had fainted, but that hadn't seemed to put Alec, Seth or Robin anymore at ease. Seth had insisted that she go straight to the infirmary while Robin fretted, hovering like a helicopter as Alec had scooped Sidda up and headed for the door, snapping at Seth to tell him what had happened.

Sidda had managed to convince Alec that she could walk and that he would be filled in on everything when they got into the infirmary. At the moment, he was standing beside her while Seth went off to find Sibil. Robin was on her other side, a similar unhappy expression on her face. Sidda sighed. This was definitely not the home-coming she had been hoping for.

Alec only replied to her request by tightening his grip on her arm. She was luckily saved from having the circulation cut off by the timely appearance of Sibil and Seth. But Sibil didn't look happy…this just wasn't her day was it?

"After all those warnings, Sidda, you felt the need to take off on a cross-country vacation?" the female doctor scolded as she came closer, her practical sneakers squeaking on super-clean tile floor. Ow…Alec's hand was now much too tight on her arm.

"Hey, babe, that sorta hurts," she said, giving him a smile. His grip loosened, and he turned a scowl on Sibil.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" he demanded, "Someone needs to start talking." He looked down at Sidda, who promptly averted her gaze. "Now."

"More important things to worry about here than you being out of the loop, Alec," Sibil said. She crossed the gap remaining between her and Sidda and took the younger transgenic by the hand. "Someone's far over due for a check-up."

Sidda felt like digging her heels in and refusing just on the principle of the matter. Did everyone just think they could order her around and demand answers because she'd come back? The complete independence of the past few weeks had made her quite obstinate, but she could tell from the look on Alec's face that this wasn't the time to mutiny.

"Robin, want to go home and start dinner?" Seth said, turning to his wife. "We'll probably need it when we get back."

Robin gave Seth a look that was bordering on scathing; being sent back to the kitchen wasn't high on her things to do list, and she didn't seem to appreciate the suggestion.

Sidda put her free hand on her hip and looked back at Seth. "Aren't you going home, too?"

"No, he's staying," Alec replied for Seth before the other transgenic could say anything. Sidda narrowed her eyes at Alec. Okay, this was starting to get annoying…

Robin could tell that Sidda was about to protest, so she gave her friend something that could pass for an encouraging smile. "Hey, Seth's around you a lot more than Sibil. It's best if he knows what's going on too."

"And he won't hide shit from me," Alec said. He now had a glare fixed on Sibil, but Sibil was staring straight back at him, unbending.

"It's doctor-patient confidentiality," Sibil said, raising her chin, "I can't tell you things if she doesn't want you to know."

Sidda had a feeling that that wouldn't be a problem anymore. Keeping Alec away from these appointments was probably going to be impossible in the future, and if Seth was going to become her second doctor… This was all much more trouble than she had ever expected.

"Look, I'll fix your favorites," Robin said, breaking up any potential fights for the moment even though she felt like having one with Seth. She nodded her head toward Sibil and the back hallways that led to the exam rooms. "Now go get it over with so we can all go home and catch up."

"Yes, let's," Sibil said. Without saying more, she walked back toward the halls, expecting the others to follow.

When they were in the exam room, Sidda leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, reluctant to take a seat on the exam table. Alec stood next to her, giving off guard dog vibes as he glanced down at her, while Seth wandered over to linger near the cabinets on the far wall. Sibil, however, was in command. She pointed to Sidda and then to the paper-covered exam table while she put on a pair of latex gloves.

"How many times did you faint while you were gone?" she asked as she walked over and pulled a blood pressure cuff off of the wall near the bed.

Sidda sighed as she sat down on the exam table. "I don't know, two or three." At the way Alec's nostrils flared, she quickly added, "And it was in the house, where I wasn't in any danger."

"Sidda," Alec growled under his breath as he massaged the bridge of his nose.

"I don't think right now is the best time to berate her for her stupidity," Sibil scolded as she approached Sidda and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her left arm. While she took Sidda's blood pressure, she tossed a look over at Seth. "You read her file?"

"Yes," he replied. He shook his head when Alec looked at him. "I read it today, so I didn't know about all this until now."

"I don't think anyone really gets how much I would like to know what all this is," Alec said, his face tense.

"BP's only 79 over 50," Sibil said, frowning as she pulled the cuff off Sidda's arm, "I warned you about low blood pressure."

"I know, I've been careful," Sidda said, a warm flush washing over her face.

"And you," Sibil said, turning her attention for a brief moment to Alec, "How much do you know?"

"Nothing," he replied shortly.

"I was going to tell you," Sidda said, half-plaintively and half in her own defense. Her heart was starting its usual oh-god-I'm-in-a-hospital race again, only compounded by Alec's anger with her and her own frustration at the situation. Agitated, she kicked her legs back and forth. She really had meant to tell him, but she had wanted to do it in T.C., where Sibil could explain that it was okay, nothing too awful. Circumstances had made that impossible…

"What, it slipped your mind that you faint often when you're pregnant?" Alec asked. "How much else haven't you told me?"

Sidda scowled at him. "Would you—"

"All right, that's enough," Sibil said. She turned fully toward Alec, her hands on her hips. "Sidda's pregnancy isn't as easy as one would hope."

"Why not?" he asked, moving closer to the exam table so he could loom over his mate, as if that was going to protect her. Sidda sighed and reached out to take his hand, for both of their sakes.

Sibil explained, very slowly but bluntly, about the complications with Sidda's blood pressure and other factors before mentioning the probable C-section at the end of the pregnancy. "It's just best that Sidda is near a medical facility, where she can get help when it's needed."

There was a long silence until Alec broke it. "And you left for the East Coast knowing about this?"

"Did she mention that the pregnancy affects my judgment?" she said, half-smiling at her attempt to joke. Alec did not look any happier.

Sibil moved on to other normal check-up procedures while Alec came and sat next to Sidda on the exam table. Sibil raised an eyebrow as if she was going to object, but then decided to change her mind when Alec gave her one of his death stares.

"Alec," Sidda said quietly as Sibil made a notation on her clipboard after flashing a light in her eyes. It was too bad that the volume of your voice never mattered when there were other transgenics around; someone was going to overhear. But at least Sibil and Seth had the grace to appear absorbed in other things at the moment.

Alec looked at her. "I just can't believe…." Alec sighed and put his head in his hands, and Sidda suddenly felt an overwhelming rush of guilt at making him this unhappy.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder. Alec was still for a moment, and then his arm came around her, and he pulled her close.

"But it'll be fine now, right?" Alec brushed her hair away from her face so that he could look at her eyes. His were anxious and full of worry; despite everything she'd told him, he was still afraid that she didn't want to stay. Perhaps with good reason, Sidda thought wryly. Her first few hours back in Terminal City hadn't exactly been pleasant. But there was no way she was leaving Alec. She needed him; she had figured that out over the past few weeks' adventure.

"It'll be fine," Sidda assured him. She squeezed one of Alec's hands and then looked at Sibil. "Well, as fine as Sibil says it will be." She managed to get a half-smile out of Alec before Sibil looked up.

"Well, at the moment you seem to be doing okay except for the blood pressure," Sibil said. "But how about we do an ultrasound so that we know how the baby's doing?"

"Sounds good to me," Sidda said quickly. She looked at Alec anxiously. "Do you want to stay? You don't have to if you don't want…" She didn't get to finish before Alec jumped in.

"Where the hell would I go?" Alec said. But he didn't sound angry anymore. Instead he sounded happy, and sort of excited, and this was so, so, so much better than upset, unhappy Alec. Alec finally squeezed her hand back, and Sidda relaxed against him. She wanted him to be there, badly, though she was hesitant to admit it. It would have been hard to go to her first ultrasound without him; it just wouldn't have felt right.

"I wish I had been there for Robin's," Seth said quietly. Sidda laughed and shook her head.

"I promise you, it wasn't that exciting, Seth. And trust me, you should be glad that you weren't there for the pregnancy. Talk about fun times."

"Well, still…"

As they got up from the table to follow Sibil to the room where she'd be doing the ultrasound, Sidda patted Seth on the arm. "It's okay, if you ever have another one, I'm sure she'll make sure you experience everything. And I'm sure there will be another one unless you tell her you don't want one."

"I would like that…" Seth said, trailing off thoughtfully. Apparently he didn't mind the implied warning Sidda had given him about being there for everything. It was a good thing Robin was married to a man who loved her so much.

Speaking of loving men…Sidda glanced at Alec again, wondering if he was truly getting over everything now. She knew it was going to take some time…it was just too bad that he'd had to find out about her complications as soon as they'd gotten back. Sidda had managed to only get him okay with the whole running away thing a few days before getting back to Terminal City. She had been planning on enjoying having Alec happy with her, but, well… she was hoping that he wouldn't need as much time to get over this part.

"What exactly happens in an ultrasound?" Alec asked.

Sibil picked up the worried quality and turned and gave Alec a reassuring smile. "It's probably one of the easiest pregnancy exams there is. We simply apply some gel to Sidda's stomach area, then move a wand around on top of the skin so that we can see what's inside. It won't hurt her at all."

"That's good," Alec said, looking at Sidda. Sidda nodded vehemently. She liked it when visits to the doctors didn't involve any pain. It was too bad this one hadn't involved any emotional pain as well.

When they got to the room with the ultrasound equipment, Sidda was forced to lie down again, and this time, she had to lift her shirt up and expose her stomach. "This feels weird," she muttered to Alec as the cold gel was smoothed on.

"It looks kind of weird," Alec agreed, eyeing the gel. Sidda had to suppress a chuckle; Alec had become very suspicious of anything that bothered Sidda ever since he'd found her in North Carolina. It was a little amusing every now and then, when it didn't cause any problems.

"All right, here we go," Sibil said, directing their attention to the TV monitor as she put the wand against Sidda's skin. All of them turned to look, and Alec leaned forward so that he could see better. The baby was barely visible, hard to make out. But it was definitely there.

"It's the size of a bean," Sidda said, laughing. She couldn't believe it was actually there…all the trouble she'd gone through, and she'd still had doubts as to the baby's existence. It just hadn't seemed real. But there the tiny thing was in front of them, almost ready to start showing its presence as Sidda's belly expanded it.

"Now if you could just stay that size instead of making your mom fat…" Sidda gave a theatrical sigh, causing everyone else in the room to laugh. Alec leaned over and kissed Sidda lightly.

"It's a cute bean," he said. "And if you're lucky, it'll have inherited your genes. Then it will be nice and short and won't make you very fat." He winked at her, and Sidda pushed his shoulder.

"Hey, wait a second. Does this mean you won't like me anymore when I get fat?" she said, trying to work up a scowl.

Alec rolled her eyes. "And I just know that with all your crazy hormone levels you'll probably fuss about it all the time."

"Oh, hush." Sidda moved against the pillows for a little more comfort. "Besides, I don't want the baby to have to go through life being a shortie just for my comfort."

"I don't know, I'm sort of fond of shorties," Alec said.

"Well, everyone knows you're weird like that," Sidda said, giving him a smile. Really, he was weird…it was still strange to think that he was actually choosing to settle down with her and have a kid with her. Not that she would ever complain about it, but that's why she had run away in the first place. She just thought that he wouldn't be the settling type and didn't want to force him to be something he wasn't. Sometimes it was nice to be wrong.

"Well, everything looks good," Sibil said as she wiped the gel off of Sidda's stomach. "So, Alec, I think you can put off worrying about Sidda for a little while longer. Just don't let her get too stressed, okay?"

"I can watch myself," Sidda growled. Then she glanced at Alec. "Though it would help if certain people didn't press me…"

"Hey, I didn't know," he protested. "Plus, Robin was the one to paint up a baby room."

Sidda laughed. 'I should've known better than to leave her with keys to the apartment when I knew she'd be stressing out about me being gone."

"Well, if you hadn't left them she would've found a way to break in," Seth said, smiling at the image.

"Very true." Sidda sighed and closed her eyes. "And I bet she'll want to go shopping for that room soon too."

"You don't have to if you don't want to,' Seth said. "I'm sure she'd be happy to do it all herself if you asked her to."

"No, it's okay," Sidda said. "Robin and I will have a lot of catching up to do." She glanced at Alec again. "Though I may put off the shopping for a few days…"

"I would like that," Alec said quietly, rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand, a wry smile on his face.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you peculiarxemma, Sandra, x4 416, and nattylovesu for reviewing the last chapter! Reviews are always appreciated! &_&

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 14

The inhabitants of Terminal City were starting to get antsy with their prolonged confinement. It had been about two months since the lockdown had occurred, and no one was taking it well. Truthfully, most of them could and did still escape into the city when they felt like it, but there was still the matter of the official gates being locked, and on top of that, the fact that Max was cautioning them to stay inside. The last thing she wanted to do was lose anyone else to the Familiars or the transgenic-hating humans. They were a city besieged and none of them were taking it well.

"We're going to have a riot on our hands soon enough," Logan said. He was sitting at a table across from Max in the T.C. mess hall. Many of the transgenics had gone ahead and gotten the stoves in their apartments fixed or found microwaves, but a few, especially the younger ones, still ate in the mess hall, and people were always in there during lunch. It was just easier to eat there than go back to their apartments.

"They'll hold," Max replied before she snapped her teeth down on a ham sandwich. "They've got good endurance, and they know this is serious. We've stressed that."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they're happy about this," Logan said. He had been living with the transgenic population for around half a year now, and he was beginning to understand how they thought. Everything was a battle; they were divided on how to go into that battle though. Some were content to sit and strategize for months while others were trained to go into situations without much deliberation or thought at all.

"I'd rather them be pissy than go out and get killed by White and his fighting freaks," Max grumbled around the hunk of sandwich in her mouth.

"You could always let us go out and kill the freaks before they kill us," Krit suggested as he put his plate down beside Logan's. He slipped into the green lawn chair with his usual, unnatural X5 grace and started eating his sandwich, which seemed to be peanut butter and jelly from the way it was spewing dark purple goo and brown paste on his plate.

"We don't even know where they are," Max replied, tossing a frown at her brother.

Krit shrugged. "We've got people for that sort of thing. Trackers, assassins, all sorts of crazily well-trained soldiers who know how to find a target and take it out." He smirked at her, his sandwich held a few inches from his mouth. "It's not like you're running a peaceful commune here."

"I couldn't be that lucky," Max retorted.

"Seriously," Krit said, taking away from her ability to consider him seriously by waving the dripping sandwich at her, "You should think about making a strike-force or something. Kill or be killed. Transgenic mentality."

"If we take the initiative, White may not see it coming," Logan said. He rubbed his scrubby beard and nodded at Krit. "The least we could do would be to send out a reconnaissance team, to find out the location of White's group."

"What about the main group of Familiars?" Max asked, "We haven't even touched that subject yet. We're not exactly buddy-buddy with them either."

"No, but at the moment, they don't seem fixated on exterminating us," Logan replied, "It's more likely that they're focused on political takeover right now instead of their old apocalyptic one." Lately, Logan's informant network had been focusing on figuring out exactly who in the government was a Familiar and who wasn't. There wasn't an enormous amount, but it seemed like those who were in the government were slowly putting themselves into positions of power and creating a subtle, almost imperceptible buddy network with the others.

"So we should take out White and his buddies before the other Familiars decide that theirs is the better way," Krit said.

"I thought you were a techy pacifist," Max said, glaring at her brother.

Krit grinned. "Yeah, but remember my roots. I'm supposed to be a hardened killer." He took another bite out of his sandwich and displayed similar manners to Max. "'sides, those assholes are threatening my territory, and that doesn't fly with me."

Max launched a tiny carrot at him and snorted. "Shut up. You're not even an alpha."

"So?" Krit frowned at her. "I can still be territorial."

Logan sighed and shook his head. "Personally, I think we should start looking at our options." When Max shot him a dirty look, he held up his hands. "Just look, nothing more! I didn't say grab some guns, a couple bombs and take off right now."

"No, because then she'd kill you," Krit muttered. When Max's death gaze was turned towards him, he held up his hands. "I'm speaking truth right now."

Max rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I'm not that violent…"

Krit and Logan exchanged one of those conspiratorial look, which only served to piss Max off some more.

"I dunno, Maxie," Krit said with an irritating grin, "You did threaten to break my arm off the other day for saying you were having a bad hair day…"

Logan gave a slow, playfully thoughtful nod. "And the bathroom needed remolding last week after you got angry because the water heater didn't work…"

"You're both assholes." Scowling ferociously, Max grabbed her plate and stood up from the table abruptly.

"Max," Logan dragged her name out as he stood up, going to follow her. "Max."

"Good luck, man!" Krit shouted before turning his attention back to his sandwich.

Max refused to answer Logan as she stormed past tables of now very interested in what their leader was doing transgenics. Her plate was tossed unceremoniously in the trash as she ignored Logan and continued her march toward the door, the human trailing behind her, now wearing a frown to match her own.

When they were out in the hallway, Logan caught her arm and turned her back around. "Hey! What's wrong, it was a joke."

Max pulled her arm away. "I didn't think it was funny."

She walked away, almost stomping as she made her way through headquarters. People moved out of her way and gave her nervous sideways glances, only frustrating the hell out of her. She wasn't violent! Not that much at least, it wasn't like she flew off the handle at random. She knew Logan was following her; she could feel his presence, smell him and hear the whirr of the exo-suit he always wore even though he didn't need it. Insecure about his position here, Logan felt the suit gave him that extra edge, made him useful to the transgenics. And maybe protected him against her, since supposedly she was going to haul off and attack someone.

Her office was blessedly devoid of aggravated, cooped up transgenics coming to complain to her. She tried to shut the door in Logan's face, but he slipped in a second before she could. Trying to contain a growl, she moved over to her desk and began to shuffle through the papers.

"Okay," Logan said slowly, motioning with a thumb over his shoulder to the door, "what was that about?"

"Nothing," she snapped back.

"Yeah. I'm sure that's it."

She threw the papers onto the desk and glared up at him. "What? Aren't you scared I'm going to maim you? Rip an arm off?"

"I think ripping my arm off would maim me…" When he saw that the look on Max's face wasn't one of amusement, he sighed. "Max, what is this about?"

She pushed back from the desk and then looked at the paperweight sitting on the edge of her desk. "I just…"

There was a moment of silence before Logan prompted her. "Just…"

Max huffed and shoved her hair back behind her ears. "I don't want you to think of me as just an X5 soldier, you know?" Making a face, she turned around and started rummaging through the drawers of her desk, as if she actually was missing something.

Logan watched her for a minute and then shook his head. "Max, I've never thought of you as just a soldier," he said, taking the steps necessary to close the gap in-between them. He smiled and played with a piece of her hair as she tried to pretend he wasn't there. "Ever since that night you've broke into my apartment, I definitely thought of you as a woman first."

Max stopped and turned to him, a suspicious look on her face. "Really? Or are you shitting me?"

"I'd never shit you about this," he said, cracking a lazy smile at her vulgarity. He brushed her hair back behind her ear and kissed her. He grinned and pulled back when she melted into his arms. "And I wouldn't do that to just any soldier."

"You better not," Max warned half-heartedly.

"Yeah, I—"

Max's eyebrows knit together as Logan broke off into coughing. He stepped away from her and dry-coughed into his shirt sleeve for a moment. Frowning, she reached over and put her hand on his shoulder. "Did you see Gray about that yet?"

Logan smirked at her as the coughing subsided. "It's just a cold, Max. It's November, almost December. This sort of thing happens." A wry moment tweaked the corner of his smirk. "At least, it happens to normal humans."

"Well, I don't like it when it happens to you," she grumbled.

Logan laughed and hugged her to him, pressing his face into her hair. "Too bad. You're just going to have to deal with your weak human choice."

"Hey, don't pick on my choice," Max said, gently shoving him in the chest before hugging him back. "I personally like him."

"Well, I'm glad you do because I sort of like him too." Logan abruptly pushed away from Max so that he could have another coughing fit; this one he tried to suppress, which resulted in only fiercer chest movements. His face went slightly red, and he heaved a deep sigh when the coughing was done as if he hadn't been able to breathe properly the whole time.

"Please, please go see Gray," Max said worriedly. She gave him a sly grin and reached out to lightly grasp one of his hands. "It will make me happier," she promised Logan.

"Well, I guess I can't really say no to that, now can I?" Logan took his glasses off for a moment so that he could rub his eyes, then replaced the glasses. He leaned over and kissed her again, gently cupping her cheek with one hand for a moment, "I guess I'll be back sometime this afternoon," he said after they broke away from the kiss.

"That'd be nice… maybe you could attempt to give me another dinner cooking lesson," Max said, smiling back at him. Really, she didn't dare cook without him there. The few times she'd tried, the experiments had turned into horrible messes of goo or burnt black crisps of nothing.

"Just don't try anything on your own, ok?"

"Hey, I might not be a good cook, but I'm not an idiot," Max retorted. She pushed him to the door. "Go handle that cold. I'm gonna try to figure out something to keep everyone entertained."

Logan shook his head. "Good look with that," he said, pausing for a moment in the doorway, his hand on the doorsill. Then he swung out with one more smile.

Max sighed. Really, entertainment was the hardest job at the moment. The Cultural Center was almost complete, but not quite ready for people to use on a regular basis yet. Most of the important projects were close to completion, and besides short shifts, there wasn't much to do besides patrol since they weren't supposed to go on missions. Even when the Cultural Center was complete, Max knew that they'd still have problems with transgenics feeling cooped up. Max didn't blame them…she was feeling it herself. Which was probably why she was testy lately.

Max dropped into the chair behind her desk and stared blankly at the paperwork and reports that had piled up on it. Since when had she become a paper pusher? When she'd given up living a totally normal life, she hadn't intended it to be like this. She'd still just wanted to be one of the random soldiers in the field. But no, even that had been denied her as she'd somehow come into a strange sort of leadership role here in Terminal City.

She would never complain aloud about it. But… it would be nice if she and Logan actually had time to spend on that farm out there. If she could actually go on a mission and have people worry about her being killed because they liked Max as Max, not Max, fearless leader.

Max sighed and listlessly pushed a few papers around before folding her arms across her desk and dropping her head into them. She was stuck, and she had no idea what to do now. She didn't know how to make the transgenics, the government, the people living in Seattle, or the Familiars happy. Everyone seemed to be angry at each other, and fixing that somehow…

Well, it definitely wouldn't be happening any time soon.

Max sat up as she heard hurried footsteps down the hallway. The footsteps were already pass the first two doors, which basically meant they were coming for her unless they were in a hurry to get some gaming equipment out of the closet right next to Max's office.

Usually the hurried footsteps were for her. And as much as Max was hoping they wouldn't be this time, they still were. They stopped right outside of Max's office in the small area where she couldn't see, and then the owner of the footsteps walked in.

Ah. Dalton.

"What's up?" she asked him. She frowned as she took in his appearance: slightly disheveled, harassed-looking, and definitely not his usual chipper self.

"Gem…Crystal…come see…black marks…" Dalton was already swinging back around and out into the hallway, impatient to be off.

"I'm coming," Max said hurriedly, jumping up from her desk chair. It wasn't like she'd been working on anything anyways. "What's going on?" she asked Dalton as she followed him down the hallway, through the main room, and then out of HQ.

"I don't know, Gem doesn't know, that's the problem. These marks…" Dalton was going so fast he was almost blurring now. "They just appeared on Crystal this morning. We can't get them off, they're like…" he looked over at Max. "They're like our barcodes, Max. They won't go away, no matter what we do."

Max froze, and Dalton wheeled around when he realized Max has stopped. "Max?" he asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

As if he didn't know what was wrong…well, maybe he didn't know. But still, he knew what was happening to Crystal wasn't normal. "These marks," she said slowly. She walked toward Dalton and stopped in front of him. "What do they look like?"

Dalton was staring at her, slightly confused as to why she was stopping when he'd obviously been trying to get her somewhere urgently. "Umm, I dunno," Dalton said with a shrug. "Like something scratched her or something with a pen. Gem was super-freaked this morning."

"I bet she was," Max muttered. She took a deep breath. Well, maybe it wasn't what she was afraid it was. Plus, how was it possible? There was no explanation of them being on the kid, not when the person who could've created him would never have seen Crystal, never have been involved in her creation.

She took another deep breath. "I'm sure it's fine," she told Dalton, forcing a smile. "Maybe it's a messed-up barcode tattoo, inherited form her parents or something."

"Maybe," Dalton said doubtfully, "Gem was wondering if it might be that, but I didn't think it looked right. Plus it was on her arm."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see," Max replied. Dalton nodded, and they picked up the pace again. Max desperately hoped she was wrong about her suspicion.

Dalton led the way at a blur all the way to the infirmary, barely bothering to slow down so he didn't crash through the front doors. Max grabbed his shoulder to force him into a walk, though he strained for a moment against her grip. A few medics watched with wary eyes as the X6 and the transgenic leader passed by, making an odd pair.

Max briefly wondered where Logan was or if they had passed him on the way…or maybe he had gone back to the apartment instead of listening to what she had asked him to do. The last option had her glaring even harder than she had been previously.

Max was led to one of the exam rooms where Dalton opened the door then practically shoved her inside.

"Max!" Gem sounded relieved and worried at the same time. She was sitting on the exam table, holding Crystal in her arms. The baby girl wasn't crying at the moment, but she was staring at the adults in the room, her eyes moving suspiciously from Gray to Sibil, both of whom were standing in front of the exam table. Tears tracks and a puffy face told Max that Crystal had been crying, but for now the tears had subsided and she was silently grudging instead.

"Hey, Gem, Sibil, Gray," she said, nodding at the two doctors before giving Gem a reassuring smile. "Dalton gave me the low down, but I'm not sure if he covered it all. Care for some extra detail-telling?"

Gem returned the smile with a grimace. Carefully, she took Crystal's chubby little arm in her hand to hold her still and turned the baby so Max could get a good look. On Crystal's forearm, there was a short series of black marks, about three complete characters, that looked far too familiar for Max's tastes.

Crystal gave a whimper and tried to pull her arm back, nearly breaking Max's heart. Max was used to Crystal always reaching for her, wanting to be picked up; the little redhead had a special fondness for the T.C. leader.

"It looks like your marks, Max," Gray said. He was rubbing his reddish stubbly beard and looking at Crystal's arm. Gem held Crystal closer and cooed softly to the confused baby while Max turned to look at the doctor.

"What marks?" Dalton asked, his interest and protective instinct piqued.

"Yes, but mine didn't show up until earlier this year," Max said, "And Crystal hasn't been genetically tampered with, as far as we know."

"Did they perform any procedures on you while Crystal was in utero?" Sibil asked, her voice calm and soothing.

"What marks?" Dalton repeated.

Gem shook her head. "No, it was only the normal stuff. They knew I was pregnant, but they didn't sedate me or anything while we were there."

"Then it's unlikely that Manticore put this coding into Crystal," Sibil said, "But it had to come from somewhere." She turned towards Max, her dark gaze piercing. "These marks are Minoan, aren't they?"

Dalton sat back and grumbled to himself about how he was always ignored.

"As far as I can tell," Max replied. Logan was really becoming the expert in Minoan, but lately decoding her temporary tats had taken a backseat to keeping everyone in T.C. alive. The translation of her most recent tats still wasn't finished and what Logan had finished didn't make sense. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, wishing this added problem wasn't happening right now.

"Wait, I don't get it," Dalton said. He looked at Max, his arms crossed. "You have markings like Crystal's?"

"Every now and then they appear," Max replied, not wanting to fight with the X6 or pull rank on him. It wasn't really her most guarded secret; quite a few of the T.C. residents had seen the tattoos and asked her about them at various times. "They're coded messages, from Sandeman, but Marie can't read them. I asked."

After Marie had settled into T.C. life, they had asked her if she knew any of the Minoan symbols, and she had said no, Sandeman had never taught them to her. Ever since learning about her husband's death, she hadn't been the same, and some of those who worked closely in the lab were convinced that she had locked vital information away when she heard of the news, as if there were now mental blocks over information they needed. Every now and then, this theory seemed to be true, such as when she had suddenly remembered the sequence for the heat-suppressant drugs last month.

"So these messages on Crystal's arm are from Sandeman too?" Dalton asked, looking from Max to Crystal and Gem, trying to come up with some logical solution.

Max frowned. "No, they can't be. Sandeman was gone long before Crystal was even, um, created and then they didn't tamper with her DNA." That was something Max loved about the second generation of X5s. No genetic alterations, no Manticore stamp. But now there were the Minoan marks…

"But it has to be from him, somehow," Dalton said. His young face was set in a determined, thoughtful look. "Who else in Manticore would know how to do that? Or want to?"

"I don't know," Max said uneasily. What if it had been Sandeman, somehow? It was entirely possible; he seemed to be very, very good at this whole long-range planning thing. She glanced at Gray and Sibil. "Is it possible for Sandeman to create something in a person that only shows up on that person's child?" she asked. She'd been doing a lot of reading about biomedical stuff lately, and she thought she'd might have heard about something like that, but she wasn't sure. She was sort of hoping she'd made it up in some crazy part of her mind.

"Well, the idea is feasible, technically speaking, but for it to be so precise that actually characters are made to appear…" Sibil held Crystal's arm for a second and then let go. "It's hard for me to conceive of, considering that it would have had to be put in place long before the child was even made, possibly even when Gem was young."

"What's it called?" Dalton asked curiously.

"What's what called?" Sibil asked, her face blank.

"What you're talking about," Dalton shrugged. "It sounds sort of familiar."

"Germ line therapy. Or, well, a version of the original idea. Much more refined, restricted to egg or sperm cells perhaps, restricted to one small gene…" she shook her head and gave Gem a sympathetic glance. "I can think of very few people who have the skills to do this."

"But I don't understand," Gem said, stroking Crystal's hair. She looked up at Sibil, "Why me? Why Crystal? And why…why just this?" She knew that there had been a whole lot more writing on Max, so the super-short script didn't really seem to make any sense.

"We'll probably have to get it translated before we can even start to understand," Grey said. He frowned at Max. "Do you know where Logan is?"

"He's supposed to be here," Max said grumpily. She was so going to kill him if he wasn't. She was going to have to start threatening him with drastic consequences if he didn't come and get himself looked at.

"Why don't we ask Marie?" Dalton suggested. When everyone stared at him, he got defensive. "Well, why not? We brought her here to be the expert, didn't we? Maybe she'll know. Maybe she'll feel like talking for once." He crossed his arms. "If anything's wrong with Crystal, I want to know what's up."

Max was suddenly struck by the fact that Dalton was not only growing taller, he was becoming more mature. Not much, but it showed in the way he cared about Crystal. He was going to make quite a decent man some day.

They were all looking at her now, and Max looked away uneasily. Sometimes she hated being the 'leader'. She had never felt entirely comfortable around Marie; she was just too much of a reminder of all the problems Sandeman had created for Max and her family. But it looked like now it was up to her to deal with the woman and convince her that they needed her help.

"I suppose I could go try and talk to her," Max finally said. "But only if someone promises to look at Logan and makes sure that he sees a doctor." She gave Sibil and Grey significant looks.

"Got it," Sibil said with a firm nod. Max nodded in return; now that it was in Sibil's capable and demanding hands, Max knew that it would get done.

Max left the room then and hurried down the hallway toward where the science department was. They were lodged in an annex attached to the clinic; since there work often involved medical things, having them close to the clinic had been the easiest arrangement.

As far as Max knew, Marie spent most of her time there, though whether she actually made herself useful or not was another story. If Marie wasn't there, then she was probably at Joshua's where she'd taken up permanent residence ever since coming back from Italy.

Max stopped at the first office and glanced in; a transgenic named Calico was there. "Hey, have you seen Marie?" she asked the redhead. Calico gave a barely perceptible shake of her head; she was intensely concentrated on whatever she was looking at in the microscope in front of her.

Max started to move on when Calico's voice called her back. "Oh, sorry, Max," Calico gave her a sheepish smile. "I wasn't really listening. I think Marie is down the hall in the small lab. Room 213."

"Thanks," Max said. Well, at least that didn't mean she'd have to go fetch Marie from Joshua's and drag her all the way there. Max had heard that the days Marie didn't come into the lab were Marie's bad days.

"Marie?" Max didn't see the older woman at first; her now-white hair sort of blended in with the off-white coriander countertops that the smallest of the three labs held. But then the old woman poked her head up from behind one of the counters in the back.

"Marie?" Max stepped into the lab and watched as Mari stood up from here she'd been kneeling on the floor. The woman dusted her hands off and leveled a steady gaze at Max. They stared at each other for a moment and then Marie gave an impatient twitch before bending down to pick up some piece of equipment off the floor.

"Do you need help…" It looked like a compact DNA sequencer, but those things, even in compact form, where slightly bulky.

"No, I don't thank, you very much," Marie said briskly. "Just because I'm not transgenic doesn't mean I can't do anything for my self." She set the equipment carefully down on the table, studied it for a moment, then turned and looked at Max. "Well, my little trouble maker, what do you need from me today? I know you never come to see me unless you have to." Was it just Max, or did her voice sound slightly bitter?

"Erm, I'm sorry about that," Max said, stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets. "But that's how most of my relationships are these days. I see people when I need to talk to them."

"Oh, well that sounds healthy," Marie said. She turned and fiddled with the knobs on one of her instruments… possible a DNA analyzer? "Just because you aren't fully human doesn't mean you have to remove yourself from normal human activities, you know."

"Of course I know," Max snapped, crossing her arms. This woman always set her off! She took a deep breath, determined not to get into an argument with Marie right now. "Look, we need your help with…some Minoan. The symbols that are on me have started to appear on one of the X5 babies."

Marie stopped her movements and slowly looked up at Max. "Already?"


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you to TwilightEclps and nattylovesu for reviewing the last chapter! This chapter has more of the main characters in it this time, if anyone was wondering where they disappeared to.^_~

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 15

"Truly remarkable," Marie said, sounding more pleased and awed than anything.

Max rolled her eyes while Gem and Dalton both flashed the elderly woman a scowl. Before the two angered transgenics could say anything, Max pushed away from the wall she was standing against and walked over to stand beside Marie. The white-haired ordinary was standing beside the exam table in the infirmary, inspecting Crystal's arm while Crystal stared at her, looking as if she couldn't decide whether to cry or not.

"Yeah, that's great," Max said, "But what does it mean?"

Marie turned and looked at Max down her ski-slope nose. "Can't we just appreciate the scientific marvel that has been shown to us today for a moment?"

"Not when it affects my kid," Gem growled, her face set in a glare that had only lifted briefly today to show her worry.

Marie tutted and shook her head. "It isn't going to hurt the dear little one, not at all." She brushed her hand along the top of Crystal's head, smoothing down the thick but fluffy red hair. "I just want you to know how truly amazing it is that this worked."

"What worked?" Grey demanded. The co-administrator of the infirmary must have also been getting annoyed with all of Marie's ooo-ing and ahh-ing that wasn't giving them any answers.

Marie sighed. "John's experiment. This was one was almost an impossibility, no one, not even me, believed it would actually work."

"The tattoos were an experiment?" Max asked, thinking of her own eclectic array of markings.

"Yes, of course," Marie replied, "You, of course, have your own set of instructions, but John wanted to create a backup, just in case you failed." She smiled down at Crystal, who was now cradled safely in her mother's arms. "It seems that it worked, just as he planned. My clever, clever John."

Max froze, her arms rigid in their crossed position. "Marie. What am I supposed to not fail at?"

Marie looked up, her head tilted slightly to the side. "Well, I'm not very sure of that. John was a darling, but he didn't want to bring me our problems." She looked off to the side, out of the foggy hospital window. "Our boys became a problem…he wanted to help them." Her eyes slowly slid back toward Max. "That's why you're here. You were born to save my boys, that's your purpose."

Max tried very hard not to scowl. There was no way that she was going to save Ames White, under any circumstances.

"But how is she supposed to save them?" Dalton demanded, "And what does Crystal have to do with it?" The blond X6 was leaning against the exam table, right next to Gem, as if he would spring forward to protect both her and the baby if anything happened.

Marie blinked. "It's not just her, it's all of them."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Dalton shot back, his stance defensive. Max shot him a look, but he didn't show any signs of backing down.

"I…I don't know." She took a step backward, her eyes narrowing. "Why do you have to ask questions that I don't know the answers to?"

"Marie, it's all right," Max said, noticing the tell-tale signs that Marie was about to panic. She had done it a couple times after getting here; one of her breakdowns was not something that Max wanted to deal with right now. "We'll find out for ourselves." How, Max had no idea in hell. It seemed like yet another puzzle on top of labyrinth she already had to figure out.

Marie gave a curt nod. "You will." Tentatively, she smiled again at Crystal. "They'll help you." With that cryptic answer, she left the room, a vacant look on her face.

"So, now what?" Gem said, looking from Grey to Max expectantly. Yet again, Max wished that this leadership business had fallen on someone else's shoulders. Zack would have known what to do, he would have been so much better at this than she was. Why couldn't he get better and be here…

"We'll figure it out," Grey said, "At least we know that the tattoos aren't harmful."

"But they have to mean something," Dalton said, glaring at the door Marie had left by.

Gem reached over and put a calming hand on the boy's arm. "They do, and we're going to decipher it. Don't push that woman anymore, or she'll lose it." Crystal gurgled pleasantly and tugged on her mom's shirt before putting a handful of the cloth into her mouth. Sighing, Gem brushed her hand along Crystal's back.

"What do you think she meant by 'all of them'?" Dalton asked, his dark brown eyes resting on Max.

Max resisted the urge to rub her temples. "I don't know, but I don't really like the sound of it."

"I have a few guesses, but let's wait a few days before I go off spouting them and creating more trouble than it's worth," Grey said, "If I'm right, we'll know by then."

-----------------------------

Copies of the Minoan message on Crystal's arm were made and passed on to Logan to add to his 'to be translated' pile, and in the meantime, the rest of Terminal City prepared for the opening of the Cultural Center.

It was supposed to have been another month before the Center would be ready, but Max had managed to press a few people into getting the job done earlier than scheduled. She was hoping that the opening of the Center and actually being able to use it would take the transgenics' minds off of how cooped up they had been feeling.

At the same time, Max had apparently given in to the growls of annoyance from everyone else about enough being enough. She had finally, very reluctantly, agreed to let a small team be sent out to figure out what was going on with the Familiars, and more importantly, the government.

The Familiars would be much less of a threat if they could be sure that they weren't in the very positions of power in the government that affected the transgenics. If the Familiars were, that could be a major reason for some of the problems the transgenics had faced with the Familiars and the government lately. And if they were, the government would never 'find' who was leaking things from inside the government.

They simply had to find out if anything was getting done on the government end, and if it wasn't, why it wasn't. They had to know, from their own trusted agents, that Familiars weren't manipulating them from both ends.

"I'm glad that Max was able to get the opening pushed up," Robin said, pulling a huge cake from the oven. It had been about the biggest she could make and still fit in the oven. She set the yellow cake carefully on the table and grinned at Sidda. "Want to provide some assistance via your awesome cake decorating skills?"

"Nuh-uh, that was a one-time thing only," Sidda said, sitting down on the bar stool on the other side of the counter. "So I hope you enjoyed it."

Robin made a face at her. "One time only?"

"Hey, you should feel special," Sidda said. She shook her head and then leaned forward, resting her elbows on the counter. "Plus, you remember what happened? Dalton eating the cake and all? And I'm supposed to stay away from stressful situations…"

Robin laughed and threw her hands up in the air. "Fine, no cake decorating." But as she turned back to the cabinet to pull out a jar of icing, Sidda frowned. If she claimed she couldn't decorate a cake because it was stressful, then what in the world would they let her do? Probably nothing. She really would be stuck with nothing to do, even more than having a paranoid mate made her.

"Actually, I think I will," she said, hopping down off the bar stool. She rolled her eyes at Robin's amused look and grabbed the jar of icing from her friend. "Go do something else, get changed or whatever. I've got this handled."

"All right, fine, if you insist." Robin untied her ponytail. "I think I'll take a shower…just keep an eye on Taylor, too, would you?"

"Sure," Sidda replied. Taylor was currently happily shoving one of her toys into her mouth as she lay on the living room rug. Sidda glanced down at her own tiny, barely perceptible baby bump. Actually being a mother was something that Sidda was still having a hard time wrapping her head around. Helping raise her friend's kid was a totally different situation, one that Sidda had been quite content with. But it looked like she was going to have to start accepting that the kid really was there now; soon her belly definitely wouldn't let her escape the fact.

Sidda returned her attention to the jar of chocolate icing. Hmm…. icing was so much better plain than on a cake. With a sigh, Sidda reluctantly dug her spoon into the icing. If there was any left over, well, then she would have it.

"You know," she called out, even though Robin probably couldn't hear her over the now-running shower. "It isn't really cake decorating when you have only one color of icing." Wow, it was a good thing Robin couldn't hear her. She could just imagine Robin dying of joy at the thought that Sidda cared about the aesthetics of anything at all.

"Isn't the flavor all that matters?" That would be Alec's opinion, of course. Sidda smiled at the cake as she heard Alec close the door to Robin and Seth's apartment. A whole hour before he'd come looking for her. At least he was improving.

"You're such a creeper, listening at doors like that," Sidda said as she started to spread the icing. She frowned at the rough surface and turned to wet the spatula a little bit.

"Can't help my super awesome hearing abilities." Alec sat down at the bar stool that Sidda had vacated earlier and eyed the cake that she was icing. "Mmm, cake."

"Don't you dare," Sidda sad, giving him a warning glance.

"I would never." Alec gave her a cheeky smile and then stuck his finger into the jar of icing. He popped his finger into his mouth and then spoke around it. "See. Cake's fine."

"You're such a guy," Sidda said. But then she stuck her own finger into the jar as well. "Robin would kill me if she saw," she said, laughing for a second before licking the icing off her finger.

"Well, it's good she isn't around then," Alec said. He got up and came around the counter and turned her away from the cake.

"Alec…" Sidda was only half-protesting though, and she quickly stopped fighting when Alec kissed her. Right now, she was still just happy that Alec had decided not to stay furious with her. No, if anything, he had become more considerate and careful of her. It was sort of unnerving, and as she'd told him several times, she liked it best when he was just himself around her. And this kiss… this kiss was definitely him.

Taylor gurgled at the two of them, and Sidda smiled against Alec's lips before breaking away and turning back to the cake. "I sure hope that Taylor doesn't develop real memory until a normal age," Sidda said. "'Cause she's seen an awful lot of things."

"It was just a kiss," Alec protested. He was sure Taylor had seen her parents do that before. Alec flipped his cell phone open and checked the time. "Hey, isn't Seth supposed to be getting here soon?" he asked. They were all supposed to leave for the Cultural Center in about half an hour.

Sidda nodded. "Yeah, he probably got caught up at Headquarters with that whole government-Familiar- team thing that Max put the word out about today."

"Oh, yeah, I wonder if he's gonna try volunteering for that one," Alec said, leaning against the counter.

"For his sake, I hope not," Sidda stuck the spoon back in the jar; the icing job basically looked finished now. "Robin would kill him for taking on a long-term assignment like that."

"I doubt anyone would ask him to go at the moment," Alec said thoughtfully. He reached over to grab another fingerful of icing, but Sidda nearly drove the butt of the spoon into his hand, so he quickly pulled his hand back. "He's already been on one long-term mission this year, and he was on the first government mission. Sending him out again when there're other leaders who could go would probably just piss a bunch of people off."

Sidda nodded. "And then there's the whole Robin killing whoever decides Seth is a good candidate."

"That too." Alec grinned. "I would not want to be that person."

"Nope." Sidda finished smearing the icing on the last corner of the cake and leaned back to look at it. It wasn't anything spectacular, like Robin's wedding cake, but it was smooth and iced, for what it was worth. Grinning, she slid the spoon around the jar, collecting all the remnant icing. "Here," she said, handing the spoon to Alec, "For being a good boy and not stealing it."

"Gee, thanks, Mom," he said, kissing her cheek before swiping the spoon from her outstretched hand and popping it into his mouth.

"No problem, sugar dumpling fuzzy bear," Sidda teased with mercilessly sarcasm.

"Too much."

"Agreed. I'll leave out the dumpling part next time." She dipped her finger into the jar and licked off the little slivers of chocolate that stuck to it. "You know," she said between licks, "If you want to go on the mission, you can."

Alec rolled his eyes and pulled the cleaned spoon from his mouth. "Why the hell would I go on a mission right now?"

Sidda shrugged before she put her finger back into the bowl. "Because…I don't know. I just don't want you to feel like you have to stay glued to my side."

"I like your side," Alec replied obstinately, "And I'm not glued to it."

Sidda sighed. "I know, but I'm just saying—"

Alec tossed the spoon into the bowl and pulled her backwards into his chest, one hand wrapped around her arms and chest while the other reached over her stomach to rest on her waist. He bent down so his mouth was right next to her ear and blew into it. "Why don't you ever believe me when I say I want to be with you? Do I lie that much?"

"Oh, shut up, Alec," she replied, holding onto the arm that was over her chest, "I was just giving you an option."

"One that I'm not taking, but thanks for offering," he said, nibbling at her ear.

They stayed like that until Taylor gave a discontented whine. Alec released Sidda just as she started to pull away, heading toward the baby. As she swept Taylor up into her arms, he supposed he would have to get used to this sort of thing; he would take care of the baby too, of course, but he would have to share Sidda with someone else…and he wasn't always good at that. But it was his kid, so it'd be different, right? And he didn't mind letting Taylor steal her every now and then, so he guessed it wouldn't be that bad. But there would definitely have to be some Mom-and-Dad alone time…

"Everything okay in here?" Robin asked as she entered the room. She saw Alec and threw Sidda an amused grin. "Hah, what was that, an hour?"

"Funny, Robin," Alec said.

"Hey, he's getting better about it," Sidda said, smirking at her best friend then looking over at her mate. "He's not as paranoid."

"If you didn't faint or whatever, I wouldn't have to be paranoid," Alec retorted. He wasn't exactly handling the complicated side of Sidda's pregnancy very well. He insisted on being with her as much as possible, and if he couldn't be with her, he liked for her to be with other people, preferably someone who was a trained medic. Seth happened to be his preferred person.

"I have absolutely no control over that," Sidda replied, situating Taylor so the baby was sitting on her hip, "So, suck it up, soldier."

Alec gave Robin a long-suffering look, but Robin only smiled back at him.

"Sorry, Alec. She's impossible."

"So I've noticed," he said, shaking his head.

Robin patted his shoulder as she walked over and took the fussy baby from Sidda. Taylor was getting bigger now, and she was much more squirmy than she used to be. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" Robin asked as she held the baby close. Taylor reached up and pulled on the collar of Robin's shirt, and only a quick move on Robin's part saved her from exposure. On top of being extra squirmy, she also liked grabbing everything… "How about a bottle?"

While she headed toward the kitchen, the apartment door opened, letting in a harassed-looking Seth. "All right, whoever decided telling everyone about the government mission was a moron."

"Not Max's brightest move," Alec said. He sat down on the couch, catching Sidda's hand and dragging her down with him. She curled up against his side, pulling his arm around her. One plus that Alec had discovered about Sidda's pregnancy was that she became rather cuddly without her usual cattish vicious side. Previously, he could get her hold her for a little while before she started to bat at him or pull away. Now she was content to just stay there, without the fight.

"What happened?" Robin asked as Seth kissed her on the cheek and took Taylor from her. "Did Kenton find out?"

"No," Seth said, "It's just that everyone's volunteering and then getting pissed when they get shot down." He yanked open the fridge and pulled out one of Taylor's pre-mixed bottles. "I mean, we've got transhumans and X6s volunteering when neither of those groups are eligible to go on this mission."

"I dunno, if someone has snake blood, they'd fit right into the government," Alec put in, making Sidda snicker.

Seth rolled his eyes and popped the bottle into the microwave. "If only it was that easy. We're slowly picking the right people, but there are going to be a lot of angry transgenics who won't be able to go."

"Maybe we can start sending people out to the farm again," Robin suggested. She glanced over at the chocolate cake, making sure it was properly iced, and then looked back to Seth. "I mean, if we send weapons with them and make sure they post guards..."

"But if they're Familiars in the government, then they'll know about the farm," Sidda said, "Anyone there will be vulnerable to an attack."

"It was just an idea," Robin said, sighing. If the transgenics could get back to the farm and work there, that would definitely take some of the tension out of the city. But Sidda was right, the farm could be compromised, and there wasn't any real kind of defenses there besides the bombs and weapons bunkers they had installed a few weeks after getting the property. In the area of defensibility, Terminal City was a much better place for them to all be cooped up in.

----------------------------------

The Cultural Center was proof of how much work could get done when transgenics had nothing else to do. Perhaps, more than anything, that was why it had been finished so quickly.

As their group approached the center, Sidda sniffed the air happily. "Mmm, grilled hot dogs. Just what I was craving." They had decided to have a big grilling party, and Max had even reluctantly agreed to let a few of the antsy-est transgenics go out of Terminal City to steal supplies for it. It had taken a few days, but they'd returned just that morning with enough hot dogs and hamburgers for anyone in the city who wanted one.

"Hey, Mona, Everett!" Alec waved down the couple from their apartment; they were strolling slowly along the other side of the street. Mona was pretty far along in her pregnancy now, and preferred to move a little slower than usual for the sake of the baby.

"Hey guys!" The two crossed the street to join the larger group.

"I'm so excited about having something to do," Mona said. "I had been hoping that before the baby came I could get some time in away from it all at the farm but…" She shook her head, and Sidda gave her a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, if we stay in lockdown I'm hoping my little trip to the East Coast will have taken care of any pregnancy blues I might have." She grinned at Alec's annoyed look.

"That's right, I'd heard you were pregnant." Mona beamed at Sidda. "Soon our apartment building will be filled with babies, won't it?"

"And there goes any of my chance at having a good night's sleep," Everett said, sighing dramatically.

"Well, if they're anything like Taylor I think you'll be perfectly fine." Robin smiled down at her daughter, who was busy glancing around, taking in all the sights. Luckily for Taylor, Terminal City was still fascinating for Robin, and she didn't feel the need to leave. "She's the quietest baby I've ever heard of." She bit her lip and looked up. "You guys don't think that that means there's anything wrong with her, do you?"

"No, of course not," Mona said. "Look at that intelligent gaze. I've heard some of the other babies aren't huge noisemakers either. Maybe it's just a transgenic thing."

"Maybe so." The women moved ahead, falling into a conversation that Max would have been thrilled to hear, it sounded so normal. Alec shook his head as he watched them walk along. "I feel freakishly domestic," he said.

"No kidding," Seth laughed. "At least you don't live with the decorator and cook."

"I heard that," Robin called back.

"It's ok, love, you keep me on my toes with your whole bodyguard thing," Seth replied. He shrugged. "Nothing ever stays normal around here for long."

"Tell me about it." Everett said.

Alec looked at him. "Human rights group turning out to be interesting?" he asked.

Everett shoved his hands in his pockets and looked to the left, out towards the Seattle skyline. "I'm not sure yet; they haven't really let me all the way into their group," he said. "But I tell you what, they definitely scare me. All that extremism…they and the Familiars would get along."

"Never a good thing," Alec agreed. Extremists tended to have very messed-up ideas of the way the world should work, and it was virtually impossible to convince them that their ideas might not be good. Generally killing them was simply easier than converting them. Or, well, he assumed that since that was what the transgenics were usually forced to do when they came across Familiars.

"Actually, I'm supposed to go to one of their more secret meetings tomorrow night," Everett said slowly. "Mona's really worried about me going alone, but it's even riskier if I try to take back-up." He shook his head as Seth started to speak. "No, I'll be fine. But ..." He glanced at the women to make sure they weren't paying attention. They weren't at all and were being way too loud to hear him when he spoke quietly. "Would you mind if maybe she came over and hung out tomorrow night? Just to keep her mind off it?"

"Sure," Seth said instantly.

"Sidda and I can come over too," Alec said. He gave Everett a rueful grin. "Sidda'll just be happy that I'm concerned about someone besides her."

"What is it with their thing against us being protective?" Seth asked.

"And our need to be protective?" Everett shrugged. "You'd think whoever made us would have given us instincts that weren't so much at odds with each other."

They all laughed at that, catching the women's attention. Robin and Mona beckoned for them to join up, and they quickly did. They were in front of the Cultural Center now, and already quite a crowd had gathered. Apparently everyone had been pretty eager to get out of their apartments for a little while.

"Hey, look at lover boy," Sidda said to Alec as they all started to drift through the crowd, greeting other friends. Dalton was sitting on a low wall in front of the Center with Emma sitting next to him and Anica standing in front of him. The girls were chatting animatedly, and Dalton was looking extremely pleased with himself, practically grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, wouldn't you know," Alec said. "Despite himself, I taught that boy well."

Sidda punched his arm. "You would say that, wouldn't you?" Just then, Sidda caught sight of the hot dogs and forgot all about her egotistical mate. "Mmm, hot dogs." She practically yanked his arm out of his socket as she started to drag him over to the food table.

"Ow!" Alec complained. "I didn't know pregnancy cravings were supposed to be this strong already."

"Not sure they are," Sidda replied as they wove through the crowd. She shot a grin over her shoulder back at Alec. "But they definitely provide a good excuse, don't they?"

Damn, but he loved his mate.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Hey, everyone, thanks for the awesome reviews!! I'd like to thank peculiarxemma, nattylovesu, Tina, Deanna, Sandra, Alexa, and TwilightEclps for reviewing the last chapter. You guy rock, and you all win awesome awards! ^_^

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 16

It had been Everett's personal decision to leave both Twizzler and Emma behind this time while he went alone to infiltrate the human rights group. Both of them had argued and tried to undermine his decisions with their own reasoning, but he had won out in the end by going to Max and asking her to order the younger two to stay behind. Besides, having three transgenics there only meant that there were more chances for them to slip up and reveal themselves.

So Everett went alone, taking nothing but his own person. No concealed weaponry, nothing that would make him suspicious to the humans. Even his barcode had been seared off, as it had been for the past few weeks.

Mona had not been happy when he left Robin and Seth's apartment after dinner and told her to stay there while he was gone. Dinner had been something of a tense affair, and Robin and Seth had carried a lot of the conversation, always leading it away from the potential fight brewing between Mona and Everett. Alec and Sidda had shown up with dessert, some chocolate thing that Mona should have relished, but instead she just picked at it and stared at him. He hoped that the others would figure out some way to distract her while he was gone; he couldn't stand thinking about her spending the entire night worrying about him.

As usual, he sat in the middle of the crowd while the speakers rallied the crowd with incendiary speeches. Tonight's crowd was bigger than the last, just like the other night's crowd was bigger than the one before that. It seemed that more than a small group of Seattle citizens were wary of the transgenics, and the hate group was finding many sympathetic ears.

"They'll take over!" the current speaker shouted, "They'll overrun Seattle, then take over the rest of the United States, and it'll be one country, torn apart in a civil war that we can't win!"

Instead of giving the incredulous snort he wanted to, Everett gave a shout of agreement. What the hell, like there were really enough transgenics to do all that. What did they think they had in Terminal City, a full-scale army? If they were anything, they were an estranged group of special forces that should have been allowed to have their own post, somewhere far away from Seattle and all this mess. He didn't want his son or daughter to grow up in this poverty-stricken city…

"We need to stomp out their existence before they stomp out ours," the speaker announced, "Cut their roots before they can spread like the ravenous weeds they are."

Everett would have scowled. Okay, they had animal DNA, not plant, these metaphors were ridiculous. But the fervor that the humans cheered with was anything but ridiculous. With raw energy like this, the humans could actually pull something off that could endanger Terminal City. But as far as he knew, no one was planning an attack yet; it was all in the planning stages, or so he thought. He was hoping to make a move tonight to get into the inner group, the ones who were the speakers and recruiters, the men and women who ran this place.

Everett and the rest of the transgenics needed to know what kind of fire power these guys had and if they were planning to strike against the transgenics any time soon. While the government mission was important, so was Everett's, and at the moment, it seemed like the human threat was greater than the Familiar threat. The humans were right outside Terminal City while the Familiars were elsewhere, at least for now.

While other speakers stood up and had their say, Everett waited for the finale. Jones took the stage, and the room fell quiet. Everett had marked him as the leader early on, and it didn't seem like there was anything to go against that assumption. Jones was a quiet man, but he had a commanding presence. Everett could tell that the humans felt like he was someone they could trust and follow to whatever victory he decided he wanted.

Jones began his usual speech about how the humans would never be able to tell the transgenics from among them, how the transgenics would creep into their lives and begin a slow takeover. Everett wanted to shout out against him and tell everyone that all the transgenics really wanted was to be left alone, but he kept a stoic expression, not letting anything slip past his Manticore-trained mask.

"Look for barcodes, but be wary. They may have found a way to conceal the marks, make it look like there is no difference between you and them." Jones shook his head. "But know this. There is a difference between humans and transgenics. We're people. They're monstrosities. We're real. They're hyped-up copies. Never let them fool you into thinking they even have a scrap of humanity." His dark, calm eyes scanned the crowd, seeming to connect with everyone. "If you do that, if you believe that lie, everything is lost."

Jones walked down the side stairs amid slow clapping that grew to thunderous applause. Everett joined in with fake enthusiasm, cheering and calling out death for transgenic slogans just like everyone else.

As people got up to leave, Everett stood up as well, exchanging small pleasantries with the people who had been sitting near him.

"Kill all the little mutant bastards, right, Mark?" the guy to his right said, a grim smile on his face. He clapped Everett on the back. "Snap 'em off young, maybe they won't grow back."

"Yeah, that's right," Everett said, managing to smile back and not break off the guy's hand.

"Best to exterminate them now," said a woman in the row of fold-up chairs in front of him as she picked up her coat. "Better now than later, when the young have grown up."

"I heard they're breeding," her friend said, lifting her nose in the air and sniffing indignantly, "It's truly monstrous, really."

They were just spouting off stuff they had heard the speakers say; they couldn't come up with anything original. He supposed that was why these people were grunts instead of in charge. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the important people starting to gather near the stage. He was hoping for an invitation from one of them tonight. He had been showing his loyalty by feeding them small bits of information, claiming that he was a sector policeman. Logan had given him the credentials he needed, and now Sector Eight had one more cop than they thought.

"I can't believe they think they can get away with living in our city like this," Everett said, shaking his head as if disgusted, "They're really just parasites and thieves." Thieves, sometimes yes, but they had started leaving money now and fixing things whenever they stole from people who weren't the richest.

"They need to be crushed," the man to his right said, "And I'll gladly take up a gun if it means protecting my family."

Protecting his family? That's what Everett wanted too, but these guys were just making his life hard for him.

He noticed when someone near the stage pealed off of the smaller group and started toward them. It was a tall, dark-haired woman who looked like she might have been a soldier once, just because of the way she carried herself. She approached them and looked straight at Everett.

"Would you please come with me?" She gave him a sort-of smile. Everett noticed that it didn't reach her eyes, and it made him suspicious. "Jones would like to see you."

Everett blinked. "Huh? Really?" The people around him turned to stare at him, as if he had suddenly been elevated in their respect.

"Yes, he asked for you specifically," the woman said, "Mark Hammerman, isn't it?"

"That's me," he said, giving an easy-going, enthusiastic smile.

"Good," she said. She walked away, obviously expecting him to follow.

Everett made a show of scrambling to get out of the fold-up chairs and trot after her until they reached the stage. Jones beckoned to him with a jerk of his head and turned, heading to the side door that led to the back of the warehouse, a place Everett had never been before.

"Come with us, Mark," Jones said in that quiet voice. Everett's nerves were on end now, his senses alert. He had never seen Jones invite someone to go with him back there before and didn't see a reason why the man should start now. Unless he had some reason…

Not seeing another option, Everett followed Jones while other people filed in behind him. Everything his senses were telling him let him know that this was most likely a trap, but perhaps by showing that he trusted them, he would gain their trust in return.

He was led down a series of hallways, possibly in an attempt to confuse him, but it was impossible to confuse an X5 just with twists and turns. Their eidetic memory gave them instant recall when it came to directions; Everett would have no problems getting out of here if it came to a standoff between him and these humans. The only problem was that as they walked deeper into the warehouse, it seemed that more people appeared from makeshift rooms and areas and walked behind them and hurried off ahead. What they were all preparing for, Everett didn't want to know.

Eventually, Jones led them into a room at the back of the warehouse. Only he and Jones entered, but the others stood outside, like a guard. It was bare room, with just a chair in the middle, but that seemed to make it more ominous. From his time back at Manticore, Everett knew that rooms with single chairs never boded well for those who had to sit in the damn chair. And that seemed to be what was intended of him as Jones nodded to the chair.

"Have a seat, Mark."

Everett stared at the chair for a moment. He really, really didn't want to sit there. Well, now was about the time where he could show some nervousness. He gulped and chuckled. "Hey, what is this, frat initiation?" A joke. He was pretty sure Mark would make a joke at a time like this.

Jones lifted an eyebrow and put his hands in his pockets; the same movement opened his unbuttoned jacket slightly, revealing two pistols. Everett resisted the urge to snort at the show-off, and instead made a show of becoming very nervous as he sat down.

"So, um… can I ask what's going on?" he asked, shifting around in the chair.

Jones came to stand in front of him, still and quiet as a dark pool of undisturbed water. Like always. "I think you know very well what's going on," Jones said quietly, "Now, I'm going to ask a very simple question." He took a step forward. "What are you?"

"Erm, a man? A human?" Everett tried to look indignant. "Dude, what are you accusing me of? What kind of question is that?"

"Shut up," Jones said, a snarl an undertone to his voice. "You claimed the purity of the human race?" he demanded.

"Look, I don't have to stand for this," Everett said, starting to get up. Jones pushed him back in his seat as two of them from outside, who had been watching, started into the room. It took all of Everett's self-control not to resist being pushed into the chair or to attack. Maybe, just maybe, his cover could still be kept intact.

"Wait," Jones ordered the men. They moved back to the wall but stayed inside the room. Jones turned and faced Everett. "When I ask a question of you, I don't really mean it as a question," he said.

Jones crossed his arms and stared at Everett for a moment before speaking. "Just how is it, Mark, that you're a sector police without any of our other guys near that filthy sector knowing you? And just how do you get so much information? You're strangely observant, Mark."

Ok, this confrontation was getting a bit uncomfortable now, especially considering just how many armed people he'd spotted outside the room as he'd been led there.

"I dunno," Everett said, shrugging. "Maybe I'm just at the right place at the right time. Maybe I'm just the type of guy that nobody ever notices, so they let slip things around me."

"Hmm, well, you've certainly caught our attention, Mark." That seemed to be some sort of cue. All of the sudden a group of five filed into the room. They all had cold faces, like Jones. All work dark suits, like Jones. Three men and two women. They all lined up behind Jones, like observers. This was getting weirder and weirder.

Jones turned around and grabbed something from a table that Everett couldn't quite make out. And then lighting fast for a human, Jones spun around and jabbed a long, thick, needle into Everett's side. "Do you swear you're human?" Jones said, his voice becoming rough and loud.

Everett yelled, grabbing at his side. That pain certainly wasn't hard to fake; though transgenics could heal faster, that definitely didn't stop them from feeling pain.

"I swear," Everett gasped out, grabbing at his side. Jones removed the needle and then jabbed again, this time into the other side. At least Everett had expected this.

"Do you swear you hate the transgenics?"

"Swear," Everett gasped out. Maybe leaving the "I" out would forfeit that swear….

Jones moved away and picked up a wicked looking knife from the table. Everett winced as the guy approached with it. He was sadistic.

Jones leaned in and drew a slow, slightly deep mark across Everett's chest. "Everything you've told us is true?" he asked. "Everything about the transgenics, about yourself?"

If this guy was trying to torture him, he was going about it all the wrong way. It was easy to just swear and swear, say yes. Those were the answers Jones wanted. If he was really interrogating, Jones would ask questions meant to trip up a transgenic posing as a human. This guy really could learn a few lessons on the whole matter. Not that Everett was about to teach him any.

Jones turned away, and when he turned back he was holding a lighter. He moved around behind Everett, and Everett grimaced, hoping that he was giving more credit to Jones than he really deserved with his imaginings as to what came next.

But no, he'd read the man well. After holding the lighter there a moment to make a close inspecting of Everett's skin and make sure there was no barcode, Jones still wasn't satisfied. He thrust the lighter forward and Everett yelled out as it burned his neck. It was a good thing he'd already tortured that poor area of his neck a bit; it had built up some resistance.

"Do you swear to uphold the values of mankind, against those of the viral breed of mutants?" Jones asked, his voice returned to that deadly calm.

Wait, they weren't going to kill him? Suddenly Everett got it. It was just as he had hoped—he was being initiated tonight. Only, he hadn't quite expected the initiation to come with so much pain. "Swear," he said through clenched teeth. Well, that swear didn't count anyways. He didn't know of any viral mutant breeds, unless you counted the nasty virus that had been in Max's body. And that had been taken care of already. Let Jones call transgenics that all he wanted. In the end, his opinion wouldn't matter. Everett would make sure of that as soon as he could.

Everett sagged forward as Jones moved away from him. Were they done yet, or were there more sadistic rituals to go through? He just didn't really want to have to come home to Mona looking like too much of a mess.

As Jones paused in front of the table again, Everett couldn't help but sigh. Max owed him big time for this.

Jones picked up an evil-looking pair of pliers, stuff that could probably pull his teeth out or snap his fingers, depending on the guy's mood. Well, what he lacked in expertise when it came to torturing, Jones certainly made up for in enthusiasm.

"Do you swear," Jones said, stalking slowly toward him, "to uphold…" he placed the pliers over Everett's right middle finger and snapped. Yep, the fingers. Everett yelled again and grabbed for his hand, but Jones grabbed his left hand away from him. "The human values, the human cause, before any other moral cause?" Jones finished. He broke Everett's left middle finger.

"Swear," Everett said, pulling in deep gulps of air. Well, transgenics were still mostly human, so why not? He hunched over his hands protectively. If there was worse to come… well, Everett was beginning to wonder whether his cover really was worth it or not. So much easier to just wipe this guy out now…

Everett looked up, and to his relief saw that Jones had replaced the pliers on the table without picking up another set of tools. Maybe they were finally done with that part of the initiation, if that was what it was.

Jones turned his back towards him and faced the five people in suits. "Do you swear your allegiance to your people, your country, your way of life?"

Well, now that was an easy one. "I swear my allegiance on my life."

Jones nodded. Suddenly, all five people sprang forward, rushing past Jones to get to Everett. The transgenic had to force himself to not dodge the first man's attack as he was knocked out of his chair and onto the floor. He curled up into a protective fetal position, trying to shield himself in the human way as all five people kicked at him, their shiny shoes digging into his sides. At least no one was trying to punt his head.

After a few minutes, they all stopped kicking him at the same time. A couple of them reached down and hauled him to his feet; that wasn't really necessary, Everett could have got up on his own, but he guessed that a real human wouldn't be able to do that. Besides, he wasn't exactly feeling his best now anyways, so he sagged between the two humans as if he was too weak to support himself.

Jones stepped forward and smiled. Oh, sadistic… Everett managed hold still as Jones reached forward and patted his cheek.

"Well done, Mark Hammerman. Welcome to Telic."

* * *

"Mona, staring out the window really isn't going to help, no matter what Logan seems to think."

Mona turned around and managed to smile at Robin. The blond-haired transgenic was sitting on the love seat, a worn paperback in her hand. In front of her, his back resting against the love seat, was Seth. He was busy trying to corral Taylor in; the eight-month-old was now quite an adept crawler. He gave her a sympathetic smile as Taylor crawled over his thigh and headed toward the kitchen. He caught her by her little ankles and gentle tugged her back before she got very far.

"Sorry," Mona said, shaking her head, "I'm just…"

"Glaring intensely at the rain," Sidda mumbled. She and Alec were playing some kind of card game on the floor near Seth and Taylor. The point seemed to be to slap each other's hands mercilessly over a small stack of cards until someone relented and let go of the cards that were underneath the hands. Of course, they had to stop every now and then to reshuffle the cards since they would both accidentally memorize the order of the cards.

"Yeah, that about sums it up," Mona said as she stepped away from the window.

"He's good at this sort of thing, Mona," Alec said, giving her the most comfort he could think of. Everett had been under his command back at Manticore, and he knew what the other transgenic was capable of. "Infiltration is what he was trained for, and he's done it loads of times."

"I know…" But that didn't make the wait much easier to bear. She sighed. Why wasn't Everett back yet? He had never been gone this long before for a meeting, but then again, before this he had always had Twizzler and Emma along with him. This time he had forbidden them to go, which only made her worry more. Three were much better in a fight than one, he knew that, but he had decided to go alone anyways…stubborn man.

Huffing angrily, Mona sat down on the big couch and pulled her legs up onto the couch with her. "Seth, Alec?"

"Yeah?" Alec asked, lifting his hand from where he had been trying to crush Sidda's.

Seth turned his head to look at her, giving her part of his divided attention.

"Why are men so stubborn sometimes?" Mona held up her hand before they could reverse the question and toss it right back at her. "And I'm talking about going alone into battle, not stubbornness as a whole. Is it some kind of need to prove yourself? Or just manly pride?"

"Manly pride," Sidda said, deepening her voice and throwing out her chest while jutting out her chin. "Hoo-ah!" It was an army shout, and it sounded funny coming out of Sidda.

"It's not about pride or proving yourself in this case," Seth said while Alec punished Sidda by stealing the cards she had won. "Everett just thinks that it'll be easier to gain the humans' trust if Twizzler and Emma aren't following him like an honor guard."

Mona sighed and leaned her head back against the couch pillows. "Still, I would feel better if he would've taken someone. Just Twizzler would have been fine."

"Everett's smart," Robin said, pushing herself off of the love seat, "He'll come back, Mona. Now, who's hungry?"

"Geez, Robin, it's as if we didn't just eat," Alec said teasingly. He tossed a forced exasperated look over at Seth while keeping Sidda away from his pile of cards at the same time. "Your woman's trying to make us all fat."

"I am not," Robin protested, frowning at Alec, "It's not my fault that you always eat the most."

"You better watch it, or it's going to start working with you, Alec," Sidda said as she swiped up some of his cards.

Alec grinned at her. "And here I thought we could get fat together."

"I hate you sometimes!" Sidda snapped, reaching over to pop Alec's head with her open hand. He caught her wrist and pulled her forward into his arms, using her own momentum against her.

"At least it's only sometimes," he said, trying to kiss her while she attempted to shove him away.

Mona cracked a smile at the two X5s' antics while Robin came over and sat down on the opposite end of the couch from her, offering a comforting presence. Sometimes it was just nice to be surrounded by friends, especially when your stupid mate decided to go put himself in dangerous situations. And something just didn't feel right…

A knock on the door made all five of the transgenics look up from whatever they were doing. Seth was up in the same instant as Mona, and he was already at the door while she was still on the move. If she hadn't been seven months pregnant, she would have beat him, but the baby bulge impeded her movements.

Seth opened the door, and Mona put a hand to her mouth. Everett leaned against the doorway, smiling ruefully with his bruised and battered face.

"Hey, babe," he said, right before stumbling into the apartment.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you to nattylovesu and x5 416 for reviewing, you guys totally rock!

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 17

Mona was not happy at all with Everett. She sat by his side as Seth bandaged him up, alternating indecisively between wanting to scold and lecture him, and then just wanting to hug and kiss him and be thankful he was there. "Will he be all right?" she asked Seth anxiously.

"Of course I will be," Everett said, undermining his statement with a low moan as Seth bandaged his side. Although it was the stab wounds that were being bandaged, it was the bruises that were sorer than anything. Tolerable, but not exactly comfortable.

"I was asking the medic," Mona said, her voice a half growl. She didn't want to be too upset about this, but seeing her mate walk into the room in worse shape than she'd ever seen him hadn't exactly put her in a good mood.

"Seth," Everett sighed, "Tell Mona I'll be okay." He looked over at his mate whose hands, clenched around his arm, were hurting almost more than any of the wounds he'd gotten from his 'initiation'. He wasn't about to ask her to let up though.

"He'll be fine," Seth assured Mona. "Though you should stop by the clinic so they can treat those fingers of yours," Seth said to Everett sternly. Seth had splinted them, but still, he didn't exactly keep everything necessary for all of this at the apartment. And he'd feel better if one of the doctors at the clinic also looked at Everett.

Everett nodded and looked at Mona. "Then will you be happy if I go?"

"Happier," Mona said with a sigh. Still not totally happy. Happiest if he left off all this crazy-human stuff.

As soon as Seth let Everett go, Everett curled his arms around his mate and pulled her in close to him, letting his head rest against her dark auburn hair.

"I'm okay," he said quietly, stroking her hair a bit. "And in the future, you won't have to worry about me as much." He chuckled wryly. "This whole beating me up thing means they trust me." He hoped she didn't think about the fact that that might also mean they would involve him in a lot more sketchy, dangerous tasks…

Mona nodded. "I suppose…I suppose you're right." She nodded again, as if it would help her convince herself. She gave the rest of them a weak smile. "Well, we better get going if we're heading to the clinic. We'll see you guys tomorrow."

As soon as the couple was out of the door, Sidda turned and thwapped Alec on the arm. "You better not ever get yourself hurt like that," she threatened, glowering at him. "If you do…"

Alec laughed at her. "Don't worry, I'll keep myself safe, if only to make sure you don't get yourself into too much trouble."

* * *

Terminal City was relatively quiet for the next few days, most of the transgenics a little less antsy after the Cultural Center party. Unfortunately, the teenagers of Terminal City hadn't had their desire for something to do satisfied at all.

"We're faster than the X5s, I don't see why we can't go outside as well," Dalton muttered angrily, glaring at Gem's retreating back. His plea to go out for a little while into Seattle had just been shot down by Gem on the grounds of it being unsafe.

When he'd tried to argue that there were plenty of X5s who were getting to still go out into the city, Gem had replied that it was only for T.C. business. Well, then Dalton had tried to ask for a job that would take him outside. Gem had simply said no.

Twizzler looked at him and shrugged. "Well, I haven't gotten to go out yet either, if that makes you feel any better."

"Doubt it," Emma said, smiling up at him. Dalton was sitting on a railing that went into their apartment building, while Emma leaned against it. Twizzler was sitting on the top step.

The three of them, and Anika (who was currently on patrol), had slowly formed into a group over the past month or so; Twizzler had been pulled in through his association with Emma in a human infiltration mission. They were widely-varied in personality, but found that they were all fairly-laid back, except for Anika, who could get really uptight about stuff sometimes. They often fondly referred to her as the "symbolic psychotic" of the group.

Dalton rolled his eyes. "Really, I don't see what a short trip into the city would do. Or even out to the farm. The farm's been deserted for a while so it shouldn't make a difference; the Familiars are probably bored with looking there by now."

"I would like to go to the farm again," Emma said wistfully. "I've only been once, but I really liked it. It's so much…cleaner there than here in the city."

"Reminds you of Manticore?" Twizzler said, smirking at her.

"Hey, it wasn't all bad," Emma said. "Most of it was, but I always did like the woods."

Dalton snorted. "Yeah, if it wasn't for the whole ultimate obedience, perfect soldier thing that was pretty much our life, I guess it wouldn't be so bad."

"Oh, shut up," Emma replied, stuffing her hands into her jeans.

"Maybe we could go to the farm," Twizzler said slowly. "If Anika's on patrol…"

"You're actually suggesting we do something against the rules?" Dalton asked, raising an eyebrow. Twizzler was usually the one on the group who dissuaded them from doing anything crazy. He grinned at his friend proudly. "I have taught you well!"

Twizzler shook his head, an amused smirk on his face. "Just because I usually follow the rules doesn't mean I always do," he said. "I just use a bit more common sense when I'm deciding whether to break them or not." He shrugged, "And you're right, there isn't any reason not to go to the farm. We should be perfectly fine there. So I think it's perfectly fine to go there."

"I like your reasoning," Dalton said. "Remind me to use it when Gem gets mad at me for leaving."

"Wait, so we're really going?" Emma asked. If they were…she couldn't believe she was about to do this. But really, they were right. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

Actually, a lot could go wrong, as they found out soon after leaving Terminal City. Their "escape" was rather simple and anticlimactic, thanks to Anica. Although she wasn't entirely sold on the idea, she also wasn't adverse to it. While patrolling the east side of the city, she turned and let them get out through the tunnel system, making them promise to wait until she could catch up with them to leave the city. They were going meet in Sector 12, at the docks near Elliot Bay.

Dalton took the leadership role, even though Twizzler was an X5 and older. Dalton's first order of business was to get to the meeting point, so they trekked through the city, heading toward the docks. A car would come later, after Anica had joined them and night had fallen. It would be easier to get away with stealing a car in the dark, when they had the advantage of night-vision and humans didn't.

Since all the sectors were fenced off, it felt like they had left Terminal City just to find themselves in a similar situation. Every time they came to a fence, they had to find a way around it that didn't involve going through the gate, and unfortunately, it was still daylight, which made sneaking around that much harder. Dalton's hoodie now had a nice-sized hole in it thanks to getting snagged on a coil of barbed wire; Emma had cut him loose with a rather wicked-looking hunting knife she had produced from who knew where.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Emma asked as Dalton headed down yet another random side street.

He tossed an easy-going smile back at her. "Sure. Why, don't you have confidence in me?"

Emma snorted, and Twizzler let out an actual laugh. That automatically put Dalton in a darker mood. He could handle this, all he had to do was get them a car and then get them out of the city and all the way to the farm without anyone realizing they were gone…easy, right?

Dalton took them down a few more alleys, relying more on hearsay from other transgenics rather than personal experience to guide him. As day faded into night and they got closer to the docks, their surroundings became even more decrepit and the people who populated those areas became sketchier. Beside him, both Emma and Twizzler went on high-alert, and he kept his eyes roving, always on the look-out for danger. He hoped Anica would make it down here safely; of course, she would probably come over the rooftops or through an underground tunnel system since she was often overly cautious. It seemed like that method could come in handy tonight.

"Great," Twizzler spat out under his breath, "Just great."

It didn't take Dalton long to figure out what he was griping about. A small group of the humans had broke away from one of the buildings and was now following them, coming a little closer with each step they took. Emma gave him one long, narrowed look, and he shrugged. Human street gang, he supposed. They weren't really a threat, as long as the group wasn't too big…like the group that had killed that friend of Alec's.

Dalton wasn't weaponless; no one walked around Seattle without a weapon, even if it was just a can of mace. He fingered the switchblade that was resting in his pocket and hoped he wouldn't have to use it…mostly. A small part of him wanted to fight, wanted to beat up on some stupid humans that thought they could threaten transgenics. In reality, the humans probably thought they were just some regular teenagers who had strolled into the wrong territory.

They walked on for at least one more block before one of the gang members sped past them and then blocked their way. He was a short guy, dark hair poking out from beneath a grey skull cap, and lots of unnecessary muscle on his stocky frame.

"Where you going?" he asked, leering at Emma before glancing at Dalton and Twizzler. "This ain't a park. You can't come through here without a little somethin' somethin' for the Chain Gang."

"The Chain Gang?" Dalton laughed. "Is that really what you named yourselves?"

"Dalton, don't," Emma hissed, throwing a glare at him. She obviously didn't want to get into a fight.

The gang member didn't think anything was funny. "You got a problem, blondie?" He shoved Dalton in the chest, knocking him back into Twizzler. The X5 caught Dalton by the shoulders, but Dalton was already moving forward again, launching himself at the gang member. Pent-up frustration and irritation exploded out of him through his fists as he let loose a combo attack that would have made his martial arts instructor back as Manticore proud.

The gang member crumpled beneath the attack, but his buddies weren't slow to come to his aid. Dalton was aware of Twizzler and Emma holding off the other gang members while he pummeled the spokesperson until the short musclehead started screaming for Dalton to stop.

"Look, hey, you can go, go! Stop! You can go!" he shouted, covering his bleeding face to shield it from anymore of Dalton's punches. Dalton sprang up from the ground and nodded his head.

"Glad we're in agreement," he said, thinking it was probably something Alec would say right then. He turned to smile at Emma, but she was already moving forward. He could tell by the stiff way she was holding herself that she wasn't pleased with him.

"Smooth move, Dolt," Twizzler said, using the nickname the other X6s in Dalton's building had come up with to tease him. He passed by Dalton too, leaving him by himself as the gang members ran off.

"You'll regret this," one of them said before scurrying off after the others.

Dalton rubbed his sore knuckles and scowled. Okay, so he beat up the bad guy and Twizzler got the girl? How did that work?! Glaring, Dalton trotted to catch up with them and shoved his hands into his pockets as he reached them.

"That was stupid," Emma said after a few minutes of tense silence, "We could have avoided that whole situation if we had just talked it over with them."

"We couldn't have talked our way out of that!" Dalton exclaimed, staring at her, "They were going to beat us up, or try to, not matter what we did." He had seen enough of this city to know a mugger when he caught sight of one.

"Still, don't try to be a hero," Emma told him, "It's better to just survive than to pull stunts like that."

Geez, she sounded like Gem and Max and Robin and Sidda! The tone was exactly the same, and she was lecturing him! All transgenic females sounded the same, what was with that?! Manticore did an awful job of creating different female types, obviously.

* * *

There were many female transgenic types displeased with Dalton by the night was through. Female and male, actually.

"Gem is going to kill you," Sidda said matter-of-factly, surveying Dalton's bruised and bloodied body.

"You don't know the half of it," Dalton muttered, staring moodily at the glass of water that had been handed to him a few minutes ago. Gem had told him not to go out a few hours before he did, she had warned him about the Familiars and how dangerous was. And of course, he hadn't listened.

Sidda made a noise, and Dalton looked up; he was surprised to catch what could possibly, only possibly, be a fleeting sympathetic look on Sidda's face.

"How is Twizzler?" Dalton asked.

"I'm not sure. Sibil's still looking at him," She sighed, "But I think he'll be ok."

"And I guess they haven't found Anica?" He was hoping that somehow, by phrasing the question the way he did, she'd say yes, yes, they had found her and everything was fine. But Sidda just shook her head.

"As far as I know, they haven't."

The night had gotten totally screwed up, and it hadn't taken long at all. First, Anica hadn't shown up at the appointed time. They'd waited an extra half hour, figuring that it was possible that traveling through the city in her normal paranoid mode may have made her a bit slower than anticipated. But then she still hadn't shown up.

They'd tried calling her on her cell a few times, but after she didn't answer and didn't call back, they'd really started to worry. But they'd been indecisive about what to do. They were afraid if they backtracked they might miss her entirely, and then she'd get to the meeting point and find them gone.

"At least she'll be able to assume we left her and head back to T.C.," Emma had argued. She had been highly uncomfortable with staying in a dangerous place for such a long period of time.

So even though Dalton had wanted to stay, he'd been overruled by Emma and Twizzler, who had strangely decided to pair up on every decision since the meet-up with the human gang. And, of course, they wouldn't leave him behind. Twizzler seemed to think that that was the worst possible idea, splitting up the group even more.

So they'd headed back the way they'd come, keeping an extra-sharp lookout when they were in the "Chain Gang" territory. Everything had seemed fine when they got out the neighborhood safely, and they'd even relaxed their guard a bit.

But then the Familiars had found them.

Luckily, it was only two, and apparently not the two best fighters in the world. They'd seen the still-bloody, dark-haired Chain Gang member down the street, pointing them out, which had given them just enough warning to be prepared when they'd been rushed by the Familiars. Except for the fact that they hadn't exactly expected them to be Familiars...

They'd tried to fight, but they were basically an even match with the Familiars. So then they'd run, and Twizzler had called for help on the way. Seth, Alec and Sidda had luckily been making an official run into the city for some supplies and had shown up. When the Familiars had seen that they were outnumbered, they had fled the scene, leave the three young transgenics to make some very embarrassed explanations.

Besides the cuts and bruises, it hadn't seemed too bad until they realized that Anica was still missing. Max had sent a few X5s back to their designated meeting place in Sector 12 to see if she was there, and two other teams were combing the streets on the way there and the sewers.

They had managed to cause a whole lot more trouble than they'd ever intended.

"Where is he?!" Dalton looked up, face white, as he recognize Gem's voice at its angriest. He glanced at Sidda, who lifted her eyebrows and have him a weird smile.

"Sorry, kid, can't help you out of this one," she said. A few seconds later, the door banged open, and Gem strode in, her mouth straight and thin, her eyes narrowed as her gaze focused on Dalton.

Dalton sunk into his chair as she simply stared at him for a few seconds. If they were worried at all about him learning a lesson from this, they really didn't have to. He was pretty sure this had quickly turned into one of the worst nights of his life.

Gem continued to stare at him, then finally snapped and spoke in a low, controlled tone. "I can't even trust myself to talk to you right now," she said, "I'll be back in a bit." And then she turned and left, pulling the door shut behind her.

"Wow," Sidda said after a moment of dead silence in the room. "I think I'll just leave next time she comes in here…"

"Probably a good idea," he said glumly. He stood up and moved over to the windowsill to look outside. No unusual amount of activity, so he supposed that they hadn't found Anica yet. As soon as Seth had finished looking over his injuries, Dalton had begged to be allow to go on one of the search teams since the whole mess was basically his fault, but they hadn't let him. No, instead they'd trapped him in the hospital room with Sidda as his guard dog.

"Dalton…" Sidda said warningly. She crossed the room to stand near him and leaned against the wall, facing him.

"I know," Dalton said. "I was just looking to see if they brought Anica in yet." He turned and looked at her. "Do you think Gem will even talk to me tonight?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Sidda said. "I've never seen her look so angry. Though, to be fair, she was probably already a little on edge anyway with the whole tattoos-on-Crystal thing." Sidda gave him one of her stern looks. "Although, also to be fair, you knew that."

Dalton avoided talking about the tattoo mess. "If Gem doesn't talk to me, could I crash at your place or something?" Dalton asked. He really didn't want to spend the night in an apartment filled with angry silence.

Sidda chuckled. "I suppose, if you really want to sleep in that awful baby room Robin made up." She pushed Dalton over a little and hopped up to sit on the windowsill. "But you really should try to talk to her tonight. Waiting will only make it harder."

"Well, I can't exactly do much about that when I'm trapped in here," Dalton replied with a touch of sarcasm. Sidda smacked him lightly on the forehead.

"Hey, look..." Dalton trailed off as the door opened. He turned around hopefully; maybe they had found Anica. But it was just Alec, probably come to relieve Sidda or something. "Hey, Alec," Dalton mumbled, looking away. The X5 wasn't exactly happy with him at the moment either, and Dalton didn't want to see Alec give him one of those condemning stares that he'd already gotten from several people tonight.

"Hey, Dalton," Alec said. He walked into the room, his hands in his pockets. "Thought you would want to know, they found Anica."

Dalton sprang away from the window and rushed the X5, ignoring the aches that wanted him to stay still. "What?! When! Is she okay?"

"Couple minutes ago," Alec said, holding up his hands to stave off any more questions from Dalton, "She's fine, for the most part. She spent the whole day playing cat and mouse with a couple Familiars."

"Let me guess, she got the role of the mouse?" Sidda asked even though she knew the answer already. Alec nodded.

"Yeah, but she's smart. They didn't catch her. She's exhausted though." He shook his head. "Kid ran damn near everywhere in Seattle trying to drop them."

Dalton bit his lip and clenched his fists. "But she's all right?"

"Yeah, better off than you," Alec said, looking over Dalton. The kid looked bad; maybe not as bad as Twizzler, who had been trying to protect the two X6s, but still. A couple of cracked ribs, a sprained ankle from being grabbed and thrown against a wall, cuts from falling on broken glass, bruises from being pummeled by the freakishly strong Familiars. "Shouldn't you be in bed or something?"

Dalton crossed his arms over his thin chest. "Can I see her when she comes back?"

"We'll see," Alec said, using that phrase that older people LOVED to use. It was more ambiguous than 'maybe', and the result usually hinged on some kind of behavior they might or might now tell you about.

Dalton stalked over to a chair near the bed. He wasn't going to lie down right now, even though he really, really felt like it. He wouldn't show that sort of weakness in front of Alec and Sidda.

"You know," Alec said, walking over to stand beside Sidda, "I thought I saw Gem come down this way…" He glanced at Dalton, a smirk on his face. "Guess I saw wrong though, since you're still breathing."

"Only because she left before she could murder me," Dalton said, "She's self-restrained." Sighing, he leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "Damn it. This is bad, isn't it?"

Alec glanced at Sidda, an eyebrow raised curiously. It wasn't often that Dalton admitted a mistake; he usually just went along, pretending it was all right. Sidda smiled softly and nudged Alec's shoulder, looking pointedly toward Dalton.

"Yeah, it's bad," Alec said. He wasn't going to lie to the kid. "In the list of your many screw-ups, this one might suck this worst." Sidda thumped him on the thigh, and he looked back at her, rolling his eyes. "But it could've been worse. Nobody died, none of you are severely injured. All in all, you got away without much better off than I'd expect."

"That's because you guys showed up," Dalton said, looking up from his hands.

"True," Sidda said, "But you weren't doing an awful job of handling the situation." She turned to glance out the window at the rainy autumn night. "Of course, you shouldn't have been out there in the first place."

"But we were going nuts in here!" Dalton replied. He kicked one foot out and slouched back in the chair, looking for all the world like any regular petulant teenager. "There's nothing for us to do here, except hang out at the Cultural Center or work on the clean-up crews. It's so annoying. And boring." He looked up at the two X5s. "Can't we do something? You don't let us do anything…"

Alec rubbed at his face, trying to come up with a good answer for that. He personally didn't see anything wrong with letting the X6s go out on supply runs, but Max was entirely against it. She seemed to think that because they looked like teenagers, that was really all they were. Someone needed to remind her that the X6s were a little bit more than that, more like well-made killing machines currently without a purpose.

"Maybe we can come up with something for you guys to do," Alec said, "You need to get to know the city better anyways, since you were dumb enough to go to the docks to meet up."

"It was a central location," Dalton replied sullenly, "And there were trucks there…"

"City survival training," Alec said, nodding. He looked at Sidda, hoping that at least she would agree with him. Her half-smile made him continue. "Supervised by other transgenics, yeah, but at least you guys can go on runs. Does that sound better?"

Dalton considered it for a moment. "Do we graduate from this training, or is it on-going?"

"Don't know yet," Alec said, "Just thought of it."

"Better than sitting around in Terminal City so bored that you're willing to risk your lives for some excitement," Sidda said, smirking at Dalton.

He managed a half-smile. "Yeah, that's true."

"I'll ask Max about it in a few days, after she's done being thoroughly pissed at you," Alec said.

Dalton winced. Oh yeah, he had forgotten about the wrath of the female transgenic leader. He had a feeling that that particular chiding was going to be planned and brutal, consisting of a lot of berating language and hand-on-hipness.

There was a knock on the door, and it swung open to reveal Robin, carrying a plate covered in tinfoil in her hands. "Hey, did I interrupt a lecture?" She winked at Dalton, and he felt like he had gained an ally in the face of a hundred enemies.

"Hey, Robin," Alec said, grinning at the blond woman, "Coming to feed the prisoner?"

"Wow," Robin said. She glanced at Dalton. "Prisoner status now. You're special."

"Okay, now see, I don't like the sound of that," Sidda said, frowning, "Because that means I've been reduced from solo-mission special ops to warden." She tossed her short hair. "I don't think I can deal with the demotion."

"You make a very sexy warden, if that helps," Alec said, his arm wrapping around her waist as he pulled her off the window ledge.

"Huh, sure," Sidda said, smiling, "You remember that in a couple months when it looks like I've swallowed a basketball."

Robin walked over and handed Dalton the plate. "Here, it's chicken and a couple sides. I guessed that you hadn't eaten, and they probably forgot to feed you." She glanced over at Sidda and Alec.

"Not my job to feed him," Sidda said.

Alec shrugged. "I wasn't here."

"Thanks, Robin," Dalton said as he pulled the tinfoil off the plate.

Robin grinned and ruffled his hair. "Wouldn't want the troublemakers to starve."


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you to peculiarxemma and nattylovesu for reviewing! This chapter has more Alec and Sidda in it than the last few. ^_^

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 18

After Dalton and Co.'s little escapade into Seattle and a lot of talking and discussion, Alec's idea of city survival courses was carried through. The X6s, non-creepy X7s and the few remaining X8s were broken down into groups and assigned to a willing, older mentor. It turned out that this arrangement gave multiple people something to do; the older transgenics were kept busy with lesson plans and arranging times when they could leave Terminal City with their teams while the younger ones were just glad to have something to do.

While the survival courses were just beginning, the government mission teams were chosen and trained. Logan had suggested they send out two teams, one local and one for Washington. That way they could keep an eye on local politics and the big league. The local team was going to be more open about their movements than the team that was going to Washington.

While the local team would actually be entering into the political world as clerks, assistants and other minor jobs, the Washington team was going to be performing undercover reacon. They would arrive and spread out into smaller teams of two or three and form bases for intense spying. Five transgenics would be entering into Seattle politics while a group of ten was being sent to the East Coast.

Since Everett's initiation into the transgenic hate group, nothing major had happened on that front line. It seemed like they were trying to amass more weapons before they attacked; Everett still wasn't sure since he hadn't gained access to the most secret information. They kept making small protests at the walls of T.C., but nothing more than that.

Everything was relatively quiet for a couple months and restrictions on transgenic movement were gradually lifted, although permits to go out into the city were difficult to obtain. You had to have a good reason for going out into Seattle, and you probably weren't going to be allowed to go beyond the sectors that butted up against Sector 7, where Terminal City was located. It was irritating that they still weren't being trusted to take care of themselves, but it wasn't like they didn't have their own ways of getting out of the city.

The Cultural Center was becoming one of the busiest places in T.C. It now had a growing library on the second floor; they had taken the day care out and put it in an empty room at HQ, partly to make more space in the building and partly because HQ was the most fortified building in T.C. If anything happened to the city, the lower levels of H.Q. were going to be standing no matter what.

In the Cultural Center, most of the transgenics could find some way to pass the time, and it turned out that most of them were good at some creative outlet or another. Some were great artists or singers or dancer or musicians. It seemed that Manticore had given everyone some kind of right-brain ability.

Then again, some people were having a hard time finding their ability.

Alec made a face as a series of awful notes came out of the piano. Why hadn't they made all the transhumans with photographic memories too? It'd be a lot easier to teach Evelyn the piano if she had that skill. It was becoming obvious to Alec that she didn't have a musical ear, especially when she turned to him, biting her lip.

"Was that good?" she asked. The transhuman was a human and cat mix, most likely one of the early attempts to create an X5. She had pointed ears, yellow eyes and fingernails that were much too long. That wasn't even mentioning her long, flailing tail…

He managed to smile back at her. "Uh, it was a good try, but I think you should keep practicing."

Evelyn's face fell. "But I've been practicing." She sat back, putting her hands in her lap. "Maybe I'm just not supposed to play the piano."

Alec sighed. Finally, she had come to the realization herself. "There's probably something around here that you're better at."

She flashed her narrowed yellow eyes at him. "As my teacher, aren't you supposed to tell me I should keep trying, no matter what?"

Not when there was no hope. Alec pushed himself away from the wall, walking over to lean against the piano. "Probably, but I'm just saying you might be happier doing something else. What have you already tried?"

"Dancing, sculpting, painting, drawing, home-decorating," Evelyn listed, flicking her fingers at each one. She smirked at him, her cattish face amused. "The others just told me I was no good, except Joshua. He kept telling me to keep trying, but I really do suck at painting."

"A lot of us do," Alec said. He remembered his own failed attempt at painting; Sidda had threatened to frame it and hang it in their apartment just to cause him eternal shame. At least until she painted something equally as bad, and then she gave up the threat.

"Yeah, but it seems like everyone else is good at something," Evelyn said. She stood up from the piano bench and brushed her fingers through her long black hair.

"Maybe you should stop trying to learn from other people and find whatever you're good at by yourself," Alec said, shrugging. "Hell, can't hurt."

"So you're saying I'm not going to get better at the piano?" Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alec grinned. "Seriously doubt it."

She snorted. "Asshole." Standing up, she walked to the door, her tail swinging behind her. When she reached the door, she turned around, her hand on the doorway. "Hey, what do you think I'm good at?"

"Hell if I know," Alec said. He pulled the cover over the piano keys and smirked at her. "You'll find something."

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "See you around, Alec." She left the door open behind her, which let muffled music from the other rooms drift into this one.

Alec left soon after she did, bypassing the other practice rooms and heading for the staircase. He was sort of proud of himself. He had spent the whole morning away from Sidda, who was teaching dance classes upstairs. Seth and Sibil had both agreed that dancing was fine as long as she didn't go overboard, and besides, the exercise was good for her. She was also under strict orders to rest if she felt the least bit dizzy, which she had agreed to without complaint when she found out they were going to let her keep dancing.

The waiting room and Sidda's dance studio were both empty, leaving Alec at a loss for where his mate could be. She had said she would be teaching until around lunch time, but they could meet up then and eat with Robin and Seth.

Making a face, he turned around and headed back down the stairs. Maybe she had gone to visit Robin… He hurried past a couple of transgenics, giving them just a cursory nod as they greeted him.

Knocking for a second on Robin's door, he let himself into her third floor arts studio. The place was an organized mess; she knew where everything was, but that didn't mean that someone else would be able to find anything. She looked up from where she was sitting at a table, moving a pencil across a piece of paper. Turned out that Robin was a pretty good sketch artist on top of being a decorator; they had already sold a couple of her sketches to the same arts dealer who took Joshua's paintings.

"Hey, Alec," she said, smiling at him. From a baby pen on the other side of the room, Taylor gurgled her own welcome. It was quite apparent that Sidda wasn't in here.

"Hey, Robin," Alec said, "You haven't seen Sidda, have you?"

Robin shook her head. "Not since this morning. Why, isn't she upstairs?"

"It'd be nice if she was," Alec said, shoving his hand through his hair. All right, she wasn't with her best friend, but there was no need to get worried. It wasn't like she had wandered off and fainted somewhere where he wouldn't be able to find her… "Do you have any idea where she might be?"

"I don't know," Robin said, "She might have been called over to HQ or something." She stood up and then leaned against the table. "Do you want me to help you look for her?"

Alec shook his head. "No, it's okay." He threw a wry smile in Taylor's direction. "Baby carrier might get in the way."

Robin laughed and shook her head. "I can carry her, you know. And Sidda's fine, wherever she is, so don't go getting all freaked out. Got it?"

Alec mock saluted her before he left. "Got it."

For fifteen more minutes, Alec checked all the rooms in the Cultural Center that he thought Sidda could have been in. She wasn't in any of them. He called her cell phone and was sent straight to voice mail. Of course. He then called Max to make sure she wasn't at HQ, which she wasn't, and he called the infirmary to check there. Gray had promptly informed him that, no, Sidda wasn't there, if she had been, they would have called him, just like he had demanded that they did.

At a loss, Alec leaned against the wall on the first floor, wracking his brain for where his pint-sized mate could have hidden herself.

"What is Alec doing?"

Alec turned his head to see Joshua leaning out of the doorway to his own expansive studio. It was easily the biggest, mostly because Joshua needed a lot of room for his prolific artwork and the guy wasn't very graceful.

"Wondering where the hell Sidda is," Alec said darkly.

"Sidda sleeping," Joshua said, as if everyone should have known that already and he didn't understand why Alec was out of the loop.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

Joshua motioned for him to follow and disappeared back into his studio. Shoving away from the wall, Alec strolled after Joshua, keeping up with the transhuman's loping gait. So he could give classes and still have room for himself, Joshua had the big studio and then another, smaller one off to the side, just for himself. Joshua led Alec through the first studio and then through the doorway that led to the smaller one.

And there was Sidda, on an old blue couch, asleep with her head cushioned on her hands. Alec shook his head and walked over to her. She looked fine to him, besides the fact that she was sleeping in the middle of the day. "So, what, she just came down here to snooze?"

Joshua moved over to easel, picking up the brush. "Sidda wasn't feeling well, came here to rest a couple hours ago. Fell asleep while talking to me." He smiled as he dabbed his paintbrush into an open can. "Sidda worried that Alec would be worried about her. Didn't want me to say anything to Alec."

Alec frowned as he bent down next to the couch and brushed some of Sidda's thick, dark blond hair out of her face. "Was she feeling sick?"

"No, just tired," Joshua said. He dashed the paintbrush across the painting, adding more color to what Alec would say was another one of his famous, best-selling messes. "Sidda have two people to care about now, Alec and Bean. Bean makes her tired and then Alec worries about Sidda being tired, which makes Sidda feel bad."

Alec smirked at the nickname for his kid. Sidda usually hated it when anyone but her or Alec used it, but it seemed that Joshua was let into their tiny circle, probably because Sidda had a soft spot for the towering transhuman.

Alec slipped onto the couch, picking Sidda up and settling her back on his lap. He put one hand on her arm and the other on what used to be her flat stomach. Now that she was five months into her pregnancy, her stomach now had a pronounced bump, but it wasn't a baby bubble yet. They didn't know whether Bean was a girl or boy since neither of them wanted to know and spoil that surprise, but Sidda kept insisting it was a boy. Alec wouldn't have minded that, and he rarely contradicted her since she was defensive about the claim.

Sidda stirred and put her hand over his, blinking awake. She smirked sleepily up at him. "Hey, you."

"Hey yourself." Alec brushed her hair back. He wanted to say something about her nap, but after what Joshua had said, he didn't want to upset her.

Sidda sat up and gave him a puzzled look. "What, no clever remarks about me needing my beauty sleep? No worried questions about me being sick or something?"

Alec laughed; Sidda knew him too well. "Already asked Joshua all those," he admitted, pulling her against him. He was going to miss her cuddly moods after she was done being pregnant. But he wouldn't miss the fainting, for sure.

"Yes, yes, he did," Joshua conformed, his voice a mumble as he concentrated on the painting in front of him. "I tell Alec Bean makes you tired."

"Yes, he certainly does," Sidda mumbled, snuggling up against Alec. She wasn't quite ready to give up on napping yet.

"You hungry, or should I call Seth and Robin and let them know we won't be coming until later?" Alec asked. Either way was good with him, as long as Sidda was happy. Happy Sidda meant not-fainting Sidda, which meant happy Alec.

Sidda considered it for a moment, evaluating warring needs: sleep and hunger. Hunger won out, since both she and the baby were hungry, and only she was tired. Or at least, that was why she assumed she was starving at the moment. "Nope, don't cancel. Let's go eat," she said, hopping off of Alec. She turned around yanked him up, really, really starving now that she had a chance to think about it.

Alec laughed. "Ok, ok, we're eating. See you later Joshua, unless you wanna come?"

"No, Joshua busy painting. Joshua eat Mac and Cheese later." Again with the mumbling. The message was clear: Joshua was painting, and there was no point bothering him now until he was done. He was in the zone.

"All right, later Joshua."

"Thanks for letting me crash!" Sidda called out as she pulled Alec along. She was hungry. Now.

As they headed back toward Robin's studio, Sidda turned and glanced at him. "Did you hear about what Everett has to do with that awful hate group tonight? Mona's really upset again."

"No, I hadn't heard at all," Alec replied. He rubbed the back of his neck where some of his muscles had tensed up from wincing at Evelyn's playing for an hour. "It was my turn to handle Evelyn today."

"Ooh, I'm sorry," Sidda said sympathetically. Dancing had been one of the first things Evelyn had tried, and she'd gotten Sidda to teach her. Sidda had been one of those straightforward people who'd flat-out told Evelyn that she wasn't going to get much better, with her already-dubious dancing skills. If someone had trouble with gracefulness and mastering rhythm, they really weren't going to get much farther in any ability related to music.

But apparently Evelyn had decided that her lack of rhythm would have no effect on her piano-playing ability…

"I think I managed to convince her to try something else," Alec said.

"Poor girl, she really wants to be good at something artistic," Sidda said. "But I'm just not sure that Manticore gave her any of that."

"No kidding," Alec said. "So what's up with Everett and Mona?"

Sidda sighed. "Well, Everett wants Mona to come to dinner again… and then he wants us to keep her away from the TV. Apparently the transgenic hate group thing wants to do some broadcast against transgenics, and they want Everett to be there. Probably checking his loyalty again or something."

"Wow." Alec shook his head as he opened the door to Robin's studio. "I'm not sure I'd be able to do that."

"Do what?" Robin asked, looking up at them. She was sitting in Taylor's playpen, holding Taylor while the child kept determinedly trying to crawl out of her mother's lap.

"Everett and that TV show," Sidda said. She promptly went over and climbed into the play pen. She held out her arms, and Robin let Taylor crawl to Sidda. Sidda had been spending a lot of time with Taylor lately; she was determined to be sure of what she was doing when her own baby was born.

Alec decided there wasn't enough room in the playpen for all of them and so sat in a chair right outside of it instead, watching while Robin started packing Taylor's toys into a bag. "It would just be tough; to act like everything you care about is stuff that you hate."

* * *

And for Everett, it was tough. When he finally managed to leave Robin and Seth's apartment later that evening, it wasn't without an extremely guilty conscience. Mona had tried to be supportive, knowing that it was what Everett wanted to do, and what Everett felt was his duty, but he could still see how much it bothered her, and how much it worried her. And he didn't like to worry her when she was as close to childbirth as she was.

Max hadn't helped either. She'd actually called to tell him that he didn't have to do it, that another agent could be found if he was uncomfortable. But Everett had turned the offer down.

"This is the best way I know how to protect my family and my friends," he'd told her. "I can't leave when I've gotten in so far. We can't afford the time it'd take to get another agent in. And then they'd have to make a hard decision too. Let this be my burden Max. I'll only feel worse if I try to pass it off to someone else."

Max had stopped trying to persuade him after that. She needed him there, so she wasn't going to fight with him too much. And now Everett was going, alone again. He'd refused to allow Emma and Twizzler to come to such a public event, and he was of half a mind to just see if he could have them taken off of the mission. He didn't like having them involved in such dirty business.

Everett climbed out of the tunnels a good sector away from where they were meeting. It was a precaution he'd started taking a week or so before he'd been initiated. He didn't want them to trace him back to T.C., and in the sewer tunnels it was easier to tell if someone was tracking him.

As he traveled closer, he noticed the crowds were quickly growing. Some voices sounded concerned, others excited. Either way, it was disturbing to think how many people might be against the transgenics. He really didn't want to picture all these people, aligned against his family and at the gates to Terminal City, shouting for their death.

The crowed started to press in on him, and Everett couldn't help but think about how many of the problems humans had were the fault of pretty much everyone but transgenics. It was the human government that had failed them and continued to fail them. The government restricted them couldn't fix the flow of supplies, and couldn't or wouldn't help the people who really needed it. Everett half-wondered if the humans would hate transgenics quite as much if the standard of living was still the same as it had been before the Pulse.

He sighed as he glimpsed a protestor, a woman who was probably moderately attractive on normal occasions. But her face was twisted with pain and fear, highlighting stress and worry wrinkles. He brown hair looked slightly greasy to his keen sight, probably because of the shampoo shortage that had been going on for the last week. Which meant there'd probably be a surplus of shampoo next week. That was just the way things worked here in Seattle.

Why had they decided to stay here again?

He was at the central location for the filming now; all the top members of Telic were gathering on a stage in the middle of the crowd, readying for their televised speech. Telic was a name that Jones had come up with; it came from the word that meant something about pleading or asserting a cause, something like that. Everett hadn't really been very interested in the details.

"Mark, my man, you're here." Everett forced a smile on his face as Cole clapped him on the back once Everett had managed to get through the guards and behind the stage.

"'Course I'm here. Where else would I wanna be?" Anywhere else but there.

Cole chuckled and surveyed the crowd with satisfaction. "It's good to see so many people here," he said. "I mean, we know there's people out there who support us, but it's one thing to just sort of suppose, and another things to see it." It was scary. It was another thing to see how many people were against the transgenics.

"It certainly is quite a turnout," Everett said noncommittally.

"It's awesome," Cole said, grinning, "I mean, Jones was expecting a crowd, but nothing like this." He laughed and shook his head. "And after this, there'll be even more support for us. Jones has got footage and everything."

"Footage of trannies?" Everett asked. He hadn't heard about this.

Cole shrugged. "I guess, that's what Jones said it was. He's going to air it during the broadcast."

Everett nodded and managed a smile. There was no way that Jones could have gotten any incriminating evidence on the transgenics, mainly because no one had done anything incriminating lately besides steal a few necessaries from some rich houses.

A hush fell over the gathered crowd, and Everett turned his head to see Jones walk to the middle of the stage, in the center of the TV cameras. Why all these news stations were humoring Jones, Everett could only guess. They had either been bribed or the news was slow this week; why not pick on the transgenics, something everyone loved to hate?

"Brothers, sisters, humanity," Jones began, his voice quiet but insistent, as always, "A danger is growing in our midst, unchecked and unrecognized…"

As Jones talked, Everett looked around at the crowd, trying to gauge their reaction to the words of Telic's leader. Most of them were nodding and every now and then there would be a shout of encouragement. How could all of these people be so easily fooled by Telic and their hate slogans and propaganda? Just because someone told you something was evil and bad, did that mean you believed them, especially when you had the freedom to refuse whatever they thought?

Back in Manticore, Everett had followed orders because otherwise they would slice him up on an exam table and use his spare parts for other transgenics or experimentation. He was expensive, but he was replaceable, so refusing an order could result in death within a matter of moments. So he had followed orders, believed what Manticore told him, hadn't questioned much; he had been an exemplary soldier and had never once had to be reconditioned, even though with each outside mission, he became less loyal to Manticore. He did what he had to to survive, and that was it.

But these people, they were born free, or at least there wasn't always a gun pointed at the back of their heads. They could have chosen to not believe what the Telic group was spouting and actually get to know some transgenics before they decided all of them were evil and needed to be exterminated.

"Telic is going to end the threat before it becomes too big to for the government to handle." He gestured towards the east, toward Sector 7 and Terminal City. "They're breeding in there, multiplying, becoming stronger. The government's trying to placate them; the government knows what they're capable of. It's time we knew that too!"

Cries of "kill the trannies" and "death to mutants" rose from the crowd just as Everett's cell phone began to vibrate. He put his hand over his pocket, wondering who would be calling right now and why. Most of the people who had his cell phone number knew very well where he was right now.

Everett's eyes widened as he realized the only reason why they would try to call him in the middle of this broadcast, with him standing right beside the stage. Mona was eight months along, and damn it!

As nonchalantly as possible, Everett moved out of the crowd and down an alley. He would have to come up with some good excuse for this later, but there was no way he was going to let Mona go through this alone and miss his first child's birth just because he was on a mission with the transgenic-hating crazies.

When he finally reached an empty place, his phone was ringing for the second time. With a final glance to make sure that no one was hanging around, he flipped open the cell and pressed it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey!" It was Robin, sounding both excited and concerned, "You got away?"

"Yeah, what is it?" he asked, wanting to get straight to the point. He started walking towards a place where he could exit into the sewers.

"It's Mona," Robin said. In the background, he could hear people moving around, talking. "The baby's coming, so we're taking her over to the infirmary."

"I'm on my way," Everett said, breaking out into a run. He didn't blur since he was certain that would call attention to him, but he definitely went faster than a normal human jog.

"Whoa, calm down," Robin said. She could probably hear the wind whistling across the cell phone receiver. "Seth says it could be hours before she delivers, so you don't have to blur here if it's going to look suspicious."

Even with that knowledge, Everett wasn't going to take any chances. "All right, okay." He took a deep breath. "Can I speak to her?"

"Yeah, sure," Robin said. Even as she pulled the phone away from her ear, Everett could hear the others in the room.

"Is he coming?" Mona asked. She didn't sound like she was in pain, but she sounded like she was breathing faster. Damn, all he wanted to do was be there with her right now, and here he was, running down an alley in Seattle.

"Does he need help?" Alec asked, "We can go get him."

"No, he just wants to talk to Mona," Robin said.

The phone was jostled a little and then Mona's voice came on the phone. "Everett?"

"Hey, love, how are you? Are you okay?" he demanded, holding the phone so tightly to his ear that it looked like he was trying to become one with it. "I'm coming."

Mona laughed a little, and he could imagine her smiling. "I'm fine right now, Seth said so, so please, don't freak out."

"I'm not freaking out," Everett said, "I'm just…damn, I'm sorry I'm not there."

"It's okay, you're going to be here." She sounded like she had utter faith in him. That, or se was going to murder him if he wasn't there. "I think the baby will hold out for you."

"Don't strain yourself or anything," he said, making a face, "Just, just do what they tell you to, I'll be there soon."

"Yes, sir," Mona said, "I'll see you when you get here, all right?"

"All right," he said, not really wanting to get off the phone with her, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Mona said. There was another brief hand-off with the phone and then Robin was back on the line.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Everett said, blurring now. He didn't care who saw him anymore. He'd deal with them if he had to.

"No problem, Everett," Robin said, "We'll take care of her until you get here; you just focus on getting here in one piece."

"Understood," Everett said. He closed the cell phone and put in into his pocket as he gave an extra burst of speed, racing for the nearest entrance into the sewer system. Time to go home.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: I am so sorry I haven't updated in FOREVER!!! Forgive me! I'll update more consistently from now on. Thank you, everyone, for your awesome reviews, I appreciate every one I get.

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 19

Everett had just stopped at the sewer entrance when he heard a voice behind him. "Everett? Dude, did you just…" Everett turned around to see Rick, a black-haired twenty-year-old with glasses. He was rather young to be in Jones' main crowd, but he was supposed to be brilliant. Obviously he was doing something right since Jones had kept him around since before Telic was formed, according to the rumors.

Aww, crap. He could see from the kid's wide eyes that he had seen Everett blur. Everett really didn't want to do what he was about to; he almost liked the kid. But he couldn't risk a discovery, and he didn't have time to find out just how much the kid had seen. It was too bad he wasn't psy-ops.

"Wow, I never, I didn't…" The kid almost looked excited and didn't even back away as Everett walked towards him.

"Sorry, Rick." Everett looked away as he snapped the kid's neck. A clean death. He could give him that much. Everett really hoped that the kid hadn't been about to say anything about how cool transgenics were or how excited he was to meet one. It would be just Everett's luck that the person who spotted him would be the one person out of Jones' group to actually not hate transgenics. Maybe the kid was just looking for a job…

He couldn't afford to allow himself to speculate. It would make him feel guilty. Everett stashed the body in an open doorway and shoved some loose debris around it so it would like the kid could have possibly tripped and snapped his own neck. He stepped out again and wiped the dust off his hands.

Everett checked around once to make sure no one was watching, then quickly climbed into the sewer. He reverted to Mantciore training, doing what he'd always done when he had to push an unpleasant mission from his mind.

Count, breathe. It was what he'd had to do, nothing more, nothing less. Breathe. Moment of remorse. Breathe. There, he'd given time to feel sorry for the boy. Now it was time to move on.

He blurred again, quickly moving through the sewer's familiar passageways. He almost knew these better than the streets above; these were just so much safer and easier for a transgenic to follow than having to go through Sector police and risk needing to use a transgenic's particular abilities against a rough crowd.

It wasn't long before he was climbing up out of the sewer entrance that was closest to the infirmary. Even after blurring almost the whole way there, he was still barely breathing hard. It was good to know that he hadn't gotten out of shape yet. Most importantly, it was good to know he could be there for his mate, and she wouldn't need to know that it had caused him any trouble at all to be there so quickly.

He was spotted as soon as he was in the infirmary. Robin, Sidda, and Alec were all in the waiting room; they'd probably all brought her when she went into labor. Seth was somewhere working in the infirmary at this very moment, in all likelihood.

"Everett!' Sidda stood up and waved him over.

"Is she okay?" Everett asked, looking around anxiously, out of habit. He was checking for any signs of something going wrong in the infirmary. But none of the passing doctors seemed particularly troubled, and Alec, Sidda and Robin's heartbeats were all relatively normal.

"Of course she is," Robin said, smiling at him.

Alec jerked his head toward one of the side hallways. "We can take you to her. We were just waiting for you to show up."

Everett followed them, only half paying attention to whatever they were talking about. He wasn't trying to be rude, he just couldn't help it. This was his and Mona's first baby, and they had no idea yet how easy or difficult Mona's labor would be. Even though he wasn't near her yet, his whole concentration was focused on her.

He was so relieved when he saw her, awake and surrounded by competent doctors. "Mona, how are you?" he asked.

Mona broke into a smile as soon as she saw him and reached out her hand. He took it and moved to her side as one of the doctors made way for him.

"I'm fine enough, despite the fact that this huge baby of yours has decided to take its sweet time coming out of me," she said with a laugh. "I blame it on the baby waiting for you to get here."

"My baby and my fault," Everett said, shaking his head. He chuckled with relief though, glad he had made it there before anything had really happened.

"Better sit down," Mona said, nodding to a chair near Everett. "According to the doctors, we have a long wait ahead of us unless the baby suddenly decides to speed up."

Outside the delivery room, Sidda gave a theatrical sigh and looked Alec up and down. "Why do you have to be so damn tall?" she asked. "Mona thinks she has problems with her baby; I've gotta deliver the baby of a six foot and one inch giant."

"I thought you weren't going to actually have to go through labor," Robin said.

Alec rolled his eyes and hugged Sidda close. "No, she isn't. She just likes to complain all the time about the fact that she's even having a baby."

"Well, I might actually get to experience labor if I wasn't carrying around the child of a giant," she grumbled. But she smiled up at Alec, letting him know that she was really only teasing him. He wasn't much fun when he was being all angsty and guilty over getting her pregnant, so she tried not to contribute to the guilty feelings too much.

"Hey, can't help my height much. Blame it on Manticore," Alec said.

"Manticore is such a convenient scapegoat," Sidda agreed. She glanced at the window again, where they could now see Mona gripping Everett's hand as she cried out. Watching Mona go through all the pain and trouble of labor made Sidda feel slightly queasy. It had been so very different when Robin had been giving birth to Taylor and Sidda had thought she was a long, long way off from ever having a child. Now this was hitting way too close to home.

"So, um, are we supposed to stay?" Sidda asked. It didn't seem like Mona would really notice whether they were there or not.

"Do you feel like fainting?" Alec asked, looking down at her with worry.

Sidda pushed his shoulder. "Don't be such a worry-wort. I'm fine. I was just asking. I don't know the proper etiquette for stuff like this." She really didn't want to stay and watch, but if that's what they were supposed to do as friends, well, then she supposed she would.

Robin shrugged. "I'm not sure. I guess we should stick around, I mean, isn't that normal? Being here for them and everything?"

Alec smirked. "That's not exactly something we went over in Manticore. Unless you had course in that?"

Robin nudged him. "Oh, hush. I'm just going off of what I read in those books." Realizing something, she glanced at the other two X5s. "Which I'm pretty sure neither of you have read yet."

Alec glanced down at Sidda, and she shrugged. "We still have about three months," she said, grinning at Robin, "And I did have courses in speed-reading."

"I looked at the pictures," Alec said.

"I don't even know why I try sometimes," Robin said, shaking her head. Really, they could both be so hard-headed…

Behind them, someone closed the blinds to the delivery room while Mona gave another muffled cry. Sidda rolled her shoulders, uncomfortable. If it hurt enough for an X5 to cry out like that, it must have been some kind of pain. Yet Sidda would have rather gone through that than the surgery she was facing.

"We could at least go down the waiting room," Robin said, "It might be a while."

"Sounds good," Sidda said, dragging on Alec's arm. She didn't have any problems with heading down there instead of lurking outside of the delivery room. Alec wrapped his arm around her as they walked.

"We can go back home, if you'd like," he said, squeezing her waist.

She grinned up at him. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were the nervous one."

"It's not like I exactly have a particular fondness for hospitals," he said. Sidda laughed and rested her head for a moment against his arm.

When they reached the waiting room, Alec let out an amused whistle and turned toward Robin. "They let you loose in here, didn't they?"

"I don't like how you make that sound like a bad thing," Robin said, smiling as she sat down in one of the plush chairs. It was true, she had decorated this room as well, and she had fitted it out for maximum comfort. Since there was only one waiting room in the infirmary for people just waiting for news about a friend or loved one, she had tried to make that room as relaxing as possible. It was mostly in green and blue tones, mimicking a calm ocean. The furniture in here all matched the rest of the décor and the couch and chairs were extra comfy.

"Reminds me of the Outer Banks," Sidda said. She settled down on the couch and curled into Alec as he sat down beside of her.

"Good, then there's no need to go back there," Alec said, "At least not without me."

"Yeah, you shouldn't ditch all of us for solo beach vacations," Robin teased. She leaned further back into the chair, letting its coziness remind her of just how late it was at night. Taylor had been left with Syl back at the apartment so Seth and Robin could go with Mona to the infirmary, so Robin wouldn't have to worry about the baby waking up tonight.

"How long do you think it'll take?" Sidda asked. Remembering back to when Taylor had been born, she was gonna guess that it was going to be a long night.

"I'm not sure," Robin said, curling around a pillow. It would have been nice if Seth could have been here, but he was making rounds in the hospital. He had been logging more hours there now that he wasn't going on missions as much; his medical abilities now far surpassed that of a normal field-med, thanks to the extra hours and reading up on medical material. "It'll at least be a few more hours. We could probably catch a nap, especially since Mona's handling this well." And she wouldn't exactly notice any of them anyway, since Everett was there and they were now in a completely different room.

"A cat nap doesn't sound half-bad," Sidda said.

Alec smirked and pulled her into his arms as they both stretch out on the couch. "You always want to cat nap now."

"Shh," Sidda said, resting her head on his arm, "Or I'll make you go sleep in the hall."

"Yeah, right," he said, and Robin chuckled. Soon enough, all three transgenics had drifted off, catching sleep when they could, just like Manticore had taught them.

* * *

Alec stood in the middle of the intersection of two hallways. Something important was happening right now, what was it? He was supposed to be somewhere. Looking around, he tried to get his bearings, but every time he turned his head, the halls seemed to switch on him. The place sort of looked like the infirmary…and he had a reason for being here. He just couldn't remember what it was. And there was a high-pitched sound breaking his concentration, a thin, eerie and continuous wail. He rubbed at his right ear, wondering if his ears were ringing.

Where was Sidda? He lifted his head. There was a trace of her scent amid the hospital smells. He needed to find her. The infirmary was quiet. Way too quiet. Where was everyone? Where was Sidda? She wouldn't like being here alone…why were they there?

He started walking, not really sure where he was going, but he followed Sidda's scent. The hallways passed by and sometimes they seemed Manticore blue, other times white, like the infirmary in T.C. The doors were all closed, and some had X's over them. Alec didn't know what that meant, and he didn't have time to stop and look. He needed to find Sidda.

As he went farther into the hallway, a new smell seeped out from under the doorways. Fresh, metallic, electric, warm. Blood. The hallway smelt of blood, and the blood scents were all familiar. Robin, Seth, Max, Mona, Krit, Syl, Everett, Joshua… He could smell all of them, all in the most potent form of their blood. And coating it all was Sidda's scent.

Alec started running. The sound of bare feet slapping the floor and the high-pitched electronic wail filled his ears. A glance down at his clothes told him he was dressed in Manticore medical scrubs, primed for experimentation. The infirmary halls melted completely into Manticore blues and shadows.

The hallway ended suddenly in the doorway of the waiting room at the infirmary. Sidda wasn't there, but Alec saw Robin's blond-haired head peeking over the back of the couch, still bowed in sleep. Alec hurried forward to ask her where Sidda was, but when he reached out to touch her, her head lolled to the side, exposing the black-stained hole in her chest, right over her heart. Robin's blood scent flooded Alec's senses, and he frantically tried to find her pulse even though he knew it wouldn't be there.

"Help!" he roared, not wanting to leave her to go find someone, "Somebody, help!" As he knelt beside her, he glimpsed a second body, one that had been hidden by the chair. Seth. The other X5's face was contorted with rage and horror, and the back of his head was bleeding, a red pool from the gunshot wound soaking into the carpet that Robin had picked out. Alec choked out Seth's name, but it was too late for him. He was gone, just like his mate, and there was nothing Alec could do.

Alec stumbled backward, his hands red with Robin's blood. What had happened here? Why? What had Seth and Robin ever done to anyone? Why hadn't anyone stopped them? And where was Sidda?

That thought got him up and moving again, even when he just wanted to stop. He had to find her, protect her from whatever had killed their friends. Running out of the room, he took in a deep breath, trying to catch her scent again. It taunted him, catching his nose and then flitting away. Fists clenched, he pounded off down the hallway, following Sidda's scent again.

The high-pitched squeal grew louder as he closed in, and out of the corners of his eyes, he realized that the walls were warping again, changing from the infirmary to Manticore. The double doors of an operating room stood in front of him, and he walked through them…literally. Even as he stretched his hands out to shove the doors open, he passed straight through them, like a ghost. For a moment he just stood there, disoriented, until he looked up.

The high-pitched noise was now a scream, a constant, inescapable electronic scream that was piercing his ears. Sidda's smell was strong here, but he couldn't feel her like he usually did. It was as if her presence was somehow missing… He looked around the room, wondering where he was. It looked exactly like an operating room back in Manticore.

In the corner, there was a pair of doctors hovering over a small bundle, something wrapped in light blue cloth. It was completely still, but Alec had a horrified feeling that he knew what it was. He willed his body to charge that way, to rip into both of the doctors, but he was frozen. Something turned his head toward the center of the room, to where the surgical lights were trained on an operating table. There was only one person standing beside the table, a scalpel glinting in one hand while the other was deep in the body of whoever was on that table. Dark blond hair against a too pale face. On one side of the table, a monitor showed multiple flat lines. A small frame, much shorter than the table that had been designed to fit all types.

"No…please…"

The man beside the table didn't look at Alec, but he pulled his hand out of the body, holding something small and dark, the size of Sidda's clenched fist. He finally looked at Alec, a grin on his face below hazel eyes.

"Your fault," 494 told Alec, Sidda's blood covering his Manticore-issue outfit. He smirked before his face went dark. "It's all your fault."

"No…"

"Yes, it is. Don't lie to yourself." His body double chuckled and shook his head. "You can't. You'll still know you killed her. Live with it."

"NO!" Alec forced himself forward, overcoming whatever was holding him back as he charged at his body double, ready to rip out his own throat. His own laughter resounded in his ears as his body double disappeared seconds before he touched him.

Grabbing the empty air, Alec stopped and whirled back towards his mate, reaching for her, shaking his head. "God, Sidda, no, come on, please? No…" He reached for her, and just as his fingers brushed her face, she shattered, her body exploding into a thousand pieces. "SIDDA! NO!"

And all of the sudden he was back in the infirmary, and Sidda's body was whole, in his arms. She was facing him, staring at him with concern. Was she staring? Or were her eyes sightless, already dead?

Alec grabbed her face between his hands and felt the soft skin of her cheek, rubbed his thumb across her lips. Watched as her eyelashes moved up and down. And only when he realized that her chest was moving, breathing, did he notice that she was speaking urgently to him.

"Alec, Alec." Her hands were gripping his arms. "Alec, love, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Alec felt like he'd just run a marathon. He nodded his head, unable to speak just yet. He looked around the waiting room. Normal activity, normal people. There was Robin, watching him with a worried look in her eyes. Some doctor was standing at the edge of the seating area as if he was unsure whether to intervene or not.

"It was a nightmare," he breathed. He felt giddy with relief, and he smiled wearily at Sidda. "I knew that."

Sidda sagged against him. "Oh my gosh, Alec, don't you ever do that to me again! That was one heck of a nightmare…I hope you don't have them too often."

"Was I saying anything?" he asked, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed. He glanced over at where the doctor had been standing; he was gone now, apparently having decided that Alec was ok.

"It was more like screaming…" Robin mumbled.

Sidda giggled slightly. "Yeah, it kind of was." She turned over and looked at him. "Very intelligible too, surprisingly."

"What was I…err…"

"Sidda! No!" Robin echoed dramatically. She laughed as Sidda rolled her eyes at her.

"Yeah, it was something like that," Sidda admitted. "And you were pleading with someone right before that. That's when I began to notice that you were talking in your sleep." She kissed him gently and then trace the line of his jaw before saying, in a quieter voice, "What was it about?

Alec looked away, out the window. Why were nightmares always so much easier to remember than dreams? He wished that he could truthfully tell her that he'd already forgotten most of it.

He looked back at her and sat up a bit, pulling her closer into him. She didn't resist at all, only rested her chin on his forearm and trained him with a steady gaze. "You going to analyze my nightmare?" Alec asked playfully, stalling for time. He twisted a loose strand of her hair around her fingers. It felt so wonderfully solid.

"Depends how easy it is to interpret," she said, smiling up at him. She was hoping that him joking around was a sign that the nightmare hadn't been that awful. "If it was about me running away, well, then I'll know you haven't gotten over that fear yet."

"Nah, I'm past that, those nightmares stopped a week ago." He winked at her. Those nightmares had really stopped the moment he had found her. He'd known at that point that she wasn't going to get a chance to run as far away from him again. He simply wouldn't let it happen, and secure in his resolve, he hadn't really been afraid. Worried during the day, maybe, but not so deeply afraid that he had nightmares about it.

Sidda poked him in the chest. "Stop changing the subject."

"Hey, you were the one that changed it."

Sidda growled warningly, and he smirked at her and kissed her on the lips, and then the throat, where he could feel the vibrations from her growling. So alive…

"I dreamed that everyone was dead," he said honestly.

"Well, you probably share that one with half the transgenics here," she teased.

Alec shook his head and glanced at Robin, who was buried in a book again. "First I found Robin and Seth's bodies…" Apparently Robin wasn't as engrossed in her book as he thought. She glanced up at him, her expression half-amused and half-horrified.

"What happened to us?" she asked.

"Not sure, you'd been dead for a bit," Alec said, shrugging. He remembered the angry and afraid look on Seth's face. "But I'm pretty sure you died before Seth did."

"Poor Seth," Sidda said sympathetically. She rested her elbows on Alec's chest, and grinned as he half-scowled at her for digging her sharp bones into his chest. "So let me guess, you found me next."

"Yeah. They were cutting you up, like a failed experiment back at Manticore…" His throat closed up as he remembered who had been digging into Sidda. Could he tell her that part? What would she think of him if she knew that Alec had dreamed of himself killing her?

Sidda tapped her chin, her eyes unfocusing for a moment like she was deeply considering a very serious question. "Hmm, that's sort of strange, really, since Manticore isn't a huge concern anymore."

"I know…" His gaze slid away from Sidda, and her eyebrows rose.

"There's more, isn't there?"

"You're always in intuitive mode at the worst of times," he grumbled. She smirked, but didn't say anything, determinedly waiting for his answer. She wasn't going to allow him a chance to distract her with conversation about another topic.

"I saw… a man. He was pulling some small, dark thing out of your body. I think it was your heart. And when he turned around…" Alec swallowed, the sound seeming to echo strangely. "It was 494. Me."

"That's all?" Sidda stared at him a moment. "That scared you?"

"Well, it was more the fact that it was me that scared me," Alec responded defensively, "And scared isn't the right word. Let's go with freaked." Freaked was a more manly term anyways.

Sidda sighed and shook her head. "So you're worried that you have a secret desire to hurt me or something?" she asked. At Alec's guilty look she smiled and kissed his cheek. "You're such an idiot. I know you would never do that, even if you don't."

"Maybe it was your twin, that Ben kid," Robin said. She'd given up on her book and had listened to him finishing the rest of his story; with transgenic hearing, there really had been no point to even pretending not to be listening in on the conversation. "And maybe it was just fears over what will happen to Sidda because you got her pregnant."

Sidda mouthed 'thank you' at Robin and then nodded at Alec. "See? Robin is good at interpreting dreams or nightmares, whatever. You're fine. You just express fears in weird ways." She chuckled and sat back. "Remind me to never accuse you of making life difficult for me again, oh giant one."

Alec frowned, trying to decide if Robin was right, or if she was just saying it to make him feel better. He knew that it hadn't been Ben, but the other part… well, it would be nice to think that that was all it was. "I am sorry about being so tall,' he said. "Maybe you'll get lucky though and it'll be a shorty like you."

"Hey!" Sidda gave him a playful swat on the shoulder. "Just because you had a nightmare doesn't mean you get to say whatever you want."

"But it might make me feel better…"

"Oh, is that so?" Sidda was half amused, half disbelieving at his audacity to use his nightmare to any advantage he could. "You're incorrigible."


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thanks for all the awesome reviews! Again, I know this is late, but it's been a tough year. Sorry about all the delays.

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 20

Everett and Mona named their 6 pound, 4 ounces daughter Lisa. She had fuzzy dark hair, just like her father, and came into the world screaming bloody murder. Everett had joked that she was going to be a singer one day with lungs like that. Now, however, the three-week-old baby was sleeping quietly in her mother's arms while a majority of Terminal City's population sat around the TVs in HQ, trying to come to a decision regarding what to do about the stubborn rioters at TC's not-so-formidable gates.

"Let's just blast 'em," Jaz suggested. The vibrant, violent X6 flopped back on the couch and threw a glare over at their leader. "Come on, Max, let's just show 'em we won't take this anymore."

Max frowned at the girl. "I don't think killing a bunch of Ordinaries is going to help our situation."

"No, but it'd be damn satisfying," Mole said, making a few of the nearby transgenics snicker.

Max rubbed her temples, wishing that this situation wasn't happening. "I don't care how much you'd enjoy it, forget it. I'm not explaining to the Feds that we killed Ordinaries just to get a high."

"That's not the only reason," an X5 declared, "They're setting our guard house on fire."

"That would be a bit of a problem," Sidda muttered sarcastically to Robin. They were sitting at a table in the middle of the crowd; Sidda had been at HQ when news of the attack had broken, and Robin had found her there. Seth and Alec were with the small team of transgenics who were monitoring the situation at the front gates.

"We can't let them keep going like this, Fearless Leader," Mole said, feeding off of the general bad mood of the group. "They're going to start thinking they can do whatever they feel like."

Max scowled at him. "I said stay until we get different information. We're not going to go slaughter Ordinaries, even if they do hate us. It makes us no better than them."

"You'd think the government would have done a better job of fending them off," Robin said, "Since they're supposedly guarding us and everything." She shoved a long strand of blond hair out of her face and glanced at the TV. The humans had subdued the guards since they had somehow discovered that the guards weren't allowed to shoot anything human, and they had made a bonfire out of the guardhouse.

"Are you insinuating that the government wouldn't plunge the country into a state of mourning if we all died?" Sidda said. She gave a mock gasp and put her hand to her heart, overdramatic. "I'm shocked. Floored, really."

Robin tossed a piece of balled-up paper at her friend. "Oh, shut up. You're not funny."

Sidda grinned and shook her head, her expression becoming serious. "Mole's right, though. If we let them do whatever they want, it'll only get worse." She waved her hand through the air. "It's that whole give an inch, they go a lot farther. It's some old saying."

Robin nodded. "I think I know what you're talking about, and yeah, I agree. But Max…she doesn't exactly think the same way the rest of us do."

Sidda poked at some of the papers on the desk. "Sometimes I wonder if leaving Manticore when she did was really the best thing…" she said it quietly, but Max probably wouldn't have heard it anyway since everyone near her was talking to her, and many of those people were shouting.

"I don't think we'll ever know," Robin replied, "But at least she didn't have to go through some of the stuff we had to."

"Yeah, I wouldn't wish that on anyone," Sidda said.

"Okay, look, they haven't hurt any of our people yet," Max said, holding up her hands for silence. She only got them to quiet down to a quiet mutter and grumble, but that was better than everyone shouting at her. "They didn't even hurt the gate guards."

"That's because they're human!" announced one of the transhumans, a big, bear-like NADU unit. "They might hesitate to hurt the X-series, but what do you think they're going to do to us transhumans?"

"String us up, gut us?" Mole suggested as possible options. He bit down on his cigar and leaned in close to Max. "And that's if they're being nice."

Max shoved his shoulder, forcing him away. "Look, if it gets any worse, I'll get the team at the gates to handle it. They have more than enough people to subdue the Ordinaries, so everyone just calm the hell down!" Emitting an aura of don't-touch-me, Max stormed through the crowd of transgenics that separated in front of her.

Sidda let out a low whistle. "Well, that went swimmingly."

"Hopefully the humans will just have their protest and leave," Robin said, glancing at the TV. They were burning Xs now in front of the gate, like they had when the transgenics had first fled into Terminal City. It seemed that Telic had taken up the practice.

"Yeah, I don't want Alec fighting either," Sidda said, picking up on what Robin was really worried about. Seth was out there, and Robin didn't like it. "Not that he can't handle himself against Ordinaries, but these guys are nuts."

"I think they have suicide-missions-are-us stamped onto them," Syl said as she slid into the chair beside Robin. She grinned across the table at Sidda. "What, little momma, you haven't fainted from all the stress yet?"

Sidda rolled her eyes at Syl, used to the ribbing by now. "Shut your face, Syl. I tried to get on the team as a sniper, but they wouldn't let me go."

Krit ruffled Sidda's short blond hair as he took the seat next to her. "That's because no one wants you conking out while you're operating dangerous machinery."

"Dude, I haven't fainted in like two weeks," Sidda complained, shoving his hand away. She grabbed a couple newspapers from the table and handed them to Krit. "Here, read up on how much people hate you."

Robin glanced down at the papers in front of her. The headline on one of them asked in bold type: **TRANSGENICS: CHILDREN OF THE APOCALYPSE?** She snorted and pushed it away from her. Some of these were just ridiculous.

"Hey, look, we're now aliens," Krit said, sliding one of the papers over into the middle of the table. There was a picture of a green tattooed neck with **ALIENS = TRANSGENICS** plastered over the picture. Robin rubbed her forehead.

"They do know that's not really a legit barcode, right?" she asked, shaking her head at the random lines on the person's neck.

"I'm more amused that they think we're all green," Krit said, grinning.

Syl shoved the paper even farther away, back toward Robin "It's funny, really. The papers paint us as awful aliens when really, what terrifies people the most is that we look exactly like them."

"You'd think they'd get by now that we really are basically human, even if we have a few odd genetic traits," Sidda said. She arched her back and shifted a bit; it was a whole lot harder to get comfortable these days now that the Bean-baby bump had become a baby ball.

"Just a few?" Robin gave her friend an amused glance.

"Well, it's a very tiny percentage," Sidda retorted. Really, she didn't see what all the fuss was about. The crazy Familiars weren't any closer to regular humans than transgenics were; they'd just taken longer to get to the stage of development that they were at.

Suddenly Sidda's phone rang, and they all went silent as she picked it up. "Alec," she said simply before flipping it open. The other three exchanged glances; that could only mean some kind of news from the gate.

They waited while Sidda spoke to him. "Mhhm. Yeah. Really? Crap, that's… oh, ok. No. Yeah, they're not happy. Okay…. Let us know if you need anything. Bye."

"So what's the news from the front?" Krit asked, open curious. Every now and then, it was convenient that most transgenic guys had no sense whatsoever of decorum.

"Well, Telic isn't being cooperative," Sidda said, shaking her head and smiling. The rest of them immediately relaxed; the news couldn't be that bad if she was smiling. "They've been trying to attack some of the transgenic team but have been extremely unsuccessful, of course. " She looked at Robin. "Alec wanted to let us know that he and Seth were fine, and everyone else as well, just in case the human media try to spin it another way. Apparently several camera crews are outside the gate."

"See, if we had our own TV show to show our point of view…"

"No, Krit," Syl said at the same time Sidda shot him a death glare. "You really should just drop that one."

"I'm hoping that one day you all will see sense," Krit muttered dejectedly. He scratched at the wooden table with his index finger. He always managed to look so pitiful when he was unhappy.

"Yeah, I kinda doubt that," Sidda said. She stopped and turned to stare at Robin as a ringing sound came from Robin's backpack, which had been slung across the back of her chair.

Robin looked confused. "Is that Seth calling? Why would he…" She reached for her backpack and missed seeing Sidda's face drain of color. In Sidda's mind, Alec or Seth would only need to call again so soon if something drastic had happened. And if Seth was calling instead of Alec…

Krit and Syl both jumped forward to steady Sidda as she swayed slightly at the table. Robin answered her phone and finally turned to look at Sidda. Her eyes widened, and she murmured quickly into the phone, "Hold on."

"Sidda," she said, moving her mouth away from the phone. "It's not about Alec, Seth is trying to tell me something about Taylor."

"Oh." Sidda sagged back against the chair and then shot a glare at Syl and Krit. "I'm fine," she snapped. They shared a bemused glance and then sat down, though they kept their eyes on Sidda.

"I can't take much more of this," Sidda said as Robin concentrated on the phone again. She looked at Syl and Krit. "I think I'll be less stressed if I'm somewhere where I can see Alec rather than waiting it out here, around a bunch of stressed and unhappy people."

"Hey, I'm a very happy person," Krit said, picking up the paper again. "I love reading about these Manticore aliens that I have yet to meet…" He stared at the picture of the green neck. "Y'know, maybe they were thinking of Mole when they had this picture made up…"

Syl snorted. "And every now and then, you remind me of why I mated with you." Her smile was almost a fond one, without any sense of sarcasm behind it.

"To entertain you, of course. I knew that." He grinned and leaned back in his chair. "Good thing it's so effortless for me."

"Mhmmm…"

Robin slammed her phone down on the table, startling the rest of them out of their conversation.

"Robin?" Sidda asked, carefully eyeing her friend. Wide eyes, thin, tight, mouth, every muscle tense. Not good. Something was still wrong.

Robin looked down at the table, her gaze focused on her phone. Finally she looked up again. "Taylor… the daycare called Seth; they didn't realize he was out with the team at the gate. Those tattoos that showed up on Crystal showed up on Taylor." She started drumming her fingers on the phone, clearly agitated and unsure what to do.

"Well, nothing's happened to Crystal, has it?" Syl asked gently.

Robin shook her head, her mouth still tight and shut.

"Well, hey, at least you'll probably have advance warning if these tattoos affect the babies in anyway," Sidda said, trying to put a cheerful light on it. She knew that even if they didn't do anything, the tattoos still freaked Robin out. Robin hated the idea that Manticore was still affecting them, even branding their children.

"I'm… I'm gonna go, if you guys don't mind," Robin said anxiously. She was already standing up, reaching to grab her bag and put her phone in it. "I just want to visit the daycare, see Taylor for a little bit. I need to see that she's okay myself."

Sidda nodded, her thoughts quickly flying and forming plans even as she spoke. "I'll walk with you," she said. She nodded at Syl and Krit. "I was just telling them I couldn't stand to be here much longer. It's driving me crazy." She felt slightly guilty about using her friend this way, but Robin would understand. And it wasn't like Sidda was really planning on putting herself anywhere where she or the baby could get hurt. Sidda really didn't feel like freaking Alec out right now, when his mind needed to be on the job and not her.

But Sidda also needed to not freak out right now, and the best way to do that was to make sure she knew exactly what was going on at the gate. And maybe even be there with a gun just in case something should happen.

"Ok, we'll see you later then," Syl said. She gave Robin a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand. "And don't worry, Taylor will be fine."

"Thanks," Robin said.

She and Sidda left, and as soon as they were mouth the door, Robin turned to look at her, eyebrows raised and a smile warring with a frown for domination on her face. "So where are you actually going?" she asked. Really, Sidda could be as predictable as a bullet shot by a regular human sometimes, not to mention that she was usually as set on her course as the aforementioned object.

"With you, part of the way," Sidda answered quite truthfully. Robin looked back at her, unamused and not at all satisfied. Sidda sighed and shoved her hair back from her face. "Come on, Robin, I'm not going anywhere dangerous. Just…closer."

Robin's eyes narrowed and started walking, heading toward the day care. "You're not supposed to go any closer to the gate than this. None of us are."

"Robin!" Sidda crossed her arms. "I'm taking a gun with me, and I'll be on a rooftop. No one's going to see me."

"If you fire that gun, you'll be noticed," Robin replied, tossing a disapproving look at Sidda. Sometimes she just didn't think, or that's how it seemed to Robin. "Come on, this is just ridiculous. You'll only have people worrying about you. And Alec will shoot me when he figures out I let you go." Robin threw her hands into the air. "Do you hear me? He will. Shoot me."

"Not if he doesn't know I was there," Sidda said, smiling sweetly at her best friend, "Besides, you already said I could go."

"What? I did not," Robin declared.

Sidda grinned at her. "Yes, you did. You said 'when'. Not 'if'. Implying that he's going to find out that you let me go, which you will."

"That's not even…that doesn't count," Robin said, frowning. She stopped as they came to the front door of the day care center. "Sidda, I don't think you should go."

"I'll be careful," Sidda said, smiling at her, "And I'll bring a big gun." She glanced at the building then looked back at Robin. "Taylor will be fine, don't worry about her."

Robin smiled softly, trying to keep the worry off her face. "I know, I know. But then again…"

"I don't think Sandeman put anything bad in the kids," Sidda said. She gave Robin a brief side hug and struck off, heading towards where they both knew was a weapons cache. Robin briefly put her hand to her head, wishing her life was simpler.

Going inside the building, Robin was immediately set upon by a couple of X9s. There weren't many of them since most of the X9 series had died when Manticore had burned down. Now three-years-old, Masie and Trix were a couple of the dozen or so X9s who had survived, and both of the little girls adored Robin.

"Robin, Robin!" Masie exclaimed, dragging on Robin's arm and pulling her inside, "Is Seth fightin' the bad guys?"

"Robin, come look at what I drew," Trix said, grinning up at Robin with her plump baby face that was framed by black curls. Back in Manticore, Trix probably would have been told to wipe that smile off her face, but Robin could only smile half-heartedly back.

"Give me a few minutes, all right, Trix?" she said, ruffling the girl's curls before turning to Masie, "And yep, Seth's fighting, but hopefully it won't be too bad."

"Seth can kill 'em all, no worrying," Masie said, giving a serious little nod.

Robin smiled. Of course Seth could, he was Superman in these girls' eyes. Whenever they saw him, tey would scramble all over him, using him as a jungle gym while they tugged at his arms, dragged at his legs and jumped on his stomach. Logan said it reminded him of Animal Planet episodes he had seen back before the Pulse where the lion cubs harassed the pride leader until he lashed out at them, but Robin had never seen Animal Planet and Seth never lashed out at the girls, so she couldn't really see the connection.

"Robin!" a female voice called out, and Robin looked up to see Elaine coming toward her, a baby on her hip while an X8 trailed behind her, a sullen look on his young, dark face. Elaine was the X6 in charge of the daycare; one of the older x6s, she had a way with children and most of them seemed to obey her. Since most of the X5s were employed elsewhere, and she had wanted the job, she had been given a trial run and then unanimously, she had been given control over the operation. She handled volunteers easily, putting them to work wherever she needed them. She smiled at Robin as she gave the X8 buy a gentle shove out of the way. "I bet you're wondering about Taylor."

Robin nodded; there was no reason to pretend she wasn't. "Where is she?"

"In the back, napping," Elaine said, motioning for Robin to follow. They wandered through the first few rooms, past a few volunteers playing with infants and a few X8s and X9s sprinkled in between. Elaine led her to a back room with a few cribs in it, and then over to the white crib with the pink bunny mobile over it. Taylor was sleeping there, on her stomach with her shirt off.

"Oh, baby," Robin said, putting her hand to her mouth before reaching out and touching the space between Taylor's shoulder blades. There was a series of black marks, a little more intricate than Crystal's, but Robin still doubted that it was more than one word. The marks were delicate and thin, but still, seeing them on her baby was unnerving. A few tears threatened the corners of her eyes, but she brushed them away quickly.

She felt Elaine's hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. Marie said they're harmless, right? That's what Gem said."

Robin nodded, but that knowledge wasn't doing much to assuage her worries. She wished Seth was there, so she could talk to him about this. There wasn't really anything he could do, but just having him there would make her feel a little better. Sighing, she ran her fingers over Taylor's back. He'd be here soon enough, right after this crisis was over.

Damn it. These humans were stubborn. Even after being bombarded with tear gas, they were hanging around the edges of Terminal City, screaming about the transgenic abomination. Alec leaned back against the wall, shaking his head.

"All right, I'm getting bored," he said, rolling his eyes over at Seth.

The other transgenic sighed and rubbed his hand behind his head. "You're not the only one. I don't think anyone likes waiting here like this."

"What, did Serge's taking potshots at the trashcan give you the hint or was it Opal taking her shoes off and starting a game of solitaire?" He nodded his head over at the dark-haired female X5 who was currently close to winning her first game.

Seth scowled and rested his head against the wall. "I think it's all sort of ridiculous, but we have our orders. No shooting the humans unless they breach the fence and make an actual attack."

"Yeah, I know," Alec said. He rubbed his face and looked back out of the alley. "But shit, if they don't get a move on, I'm making coffee and inviting them over for hostile negotiations." Outside, the Telic members were still protesting in front of the fence, their shouts and screams echoing into Terminal City. The smell of smoke was heavy, but the rain cloud that was hanging low over the city promised to wash the scent away. Alec was about to say something about the storm to Seth when he noticed movement on a room opposite of where their team was sitting.

"Hey, was Max sending in any snipers?" he asked, glancing at Seth.

Seth shook his head. "No, it's just us ten. Why?"

Alec nodded to the far rooftop. "Someone's decided to join the party." He lifted his gun so he could look through the scope, zooming his vision in even closer. He almost dropped the weapons when he caught a good glimpse of who it was. "Shit."

"Alec, you okay?" Seth asked, his eyebrows raising.

"No," Alec growled, snatching his cell phone out of his pocket. He could tell Seth wanted answers so he jabbed his gun at the person on the wall again while the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"…nothing?" Sidda answered, though he could tell it wasn't nothing. He knew for a fact that it wasn't nothing. Nothing would have been sitting in their apartment, calmly waiting, maybe reading a book to the baby or something. Not sitting on the damned rooftop with a sniper rifle trained on the Telic protestors!

"Don't give me that, Sidda, I can freakin' see you!" he snapped.

Seth whipped his head toward Alec. "You're not serious."

Alec gave a curt nod, knowing that if he opened his mouth again, he would probably start cursing.

"Don't yell at me," she replied, "I was worried!"

"That doesn't mean you get to come down here," he growled, "Go home. Now."

"Alec, you don't understand—"

"No, I don't!" he snapped, cutting her off, "I can't believe you sometimes. And don't draw attention to yourself, don't fire that—"

The sound of gun shots cut him off, and he raised his head to see Telic members surging the gate, guns in everyone's hands. A gun ricocheted off the bricks over his head, sending a puff of brick powder into the air. The other end of the line on his cell went dead. Cursing, Alec looked up to the rooftop to see Sidda leveling her gun at the first people in line, and then there were four rapid shots. Four people fell to the ground, grabbing their legs; one was screaming, holding her shattered kneecap.

"Sidda!" he growled out. He wished he could yell at her, but he didn't want to attract attention to her position. Still, if he could see her… it was highly possible that a human with a set of binoculars could see her as well.

He didn't have time to spare watching her though if he was going to help her. Besides, staring at her might lead to someone else looking that way, and maybe firing simply in the off-chance that someone was actually up there. No, he would do his job and take care of any of the humans that went through that gate. And any that might have figured out where those four shots had come from.

He pulled out his gun and crouched a bit so that more of his body was behind one of the concrete barriers that his team had constructed. At the moment, the crowd of humans was stopped behind those that had been wounded; they seemed unsure now whether or not to continue in the face of such deadly accuracy.

But the crowd farther back hadn't seen what happened, and they were still pushing forward. In a moment the people at the front would either have to go to the side or move forward, which meant that eventually the wounded would get trampled. And then their deaths would be blamed on the transgenics.

Alec cursed. "Seth, we have to get those four out of there or their deaths will be on us!" And then Max would kill them. No, maybe torture them first. Skin them alive.

"I know," Seth grunted as he shot back down. He'd been trying to stand up, but had been forced back by the bullets that the crazy crowd kept firing. "But they'll freak if we try to approach them. I don't' think we can get there without being killed."

Alec glanced at Sidda; he could still see her, which he supposed was a good thing. She wasn't down yet. But she wouldn't be able to cover them, not with this many people with guns in the crowd.

"Wait, look." Tank, a transhuman who looked like he'd been crossed with some sort of weird gray, armored animal, grabbed his arm. "Everett's there."

"Well, I guess he got to the other side then," Alec said with relief. No one had wanted to ask Everett to get involved so soon after his daughter had been born, but honestly this was the sort of thing where Everett would come in handy. He was known and trusted by the humans, and he would be able to get through.

And he was. Everett was shoving his way to the front with another guy in tow, and as soon as they got near the wounded they started dragging them off to the side. The other guy winced a bit as they screamed or fought with him, but Everett was steady and determine din his work. Like all transgenics, he'd been though worse than the general unhappiness of a wounded man.

Everett had been just in time. The crowd broke, and the whole team of transgenics at the gate were occupied with keeping the flow blocked.

Ok, so Everett and his now team of three were taking care of the wounded, but someone had to get those gates closed again. And a lock put on it, since a simple latch didn't seem to hold up to pressure very well.

"Seth… the gates…"

"I was just thinking about that," Seth said. "If we approach them from the side and swing them shut from the hinge, they may not even notice us. " He nodded his head to Sidda's rooftop. "If she's so determined not go, she could cover us just in case someone takes it into their head to stop us."

Alec nodded and pulled out his phone.

"I'm not going to leave; I was useful, I…" She started as soon as she picked up the phone.

"If we get these gates shut again, will you leave then?" Alec asked. He was practically on the verge of begging now. "I just can't help but worry about you up there, Sidda. Your reflexes aren't as fast when you're pregnant. And you know that. I don't want to have to worry about you behind me at the same time I worry about these guys in front."

Sidda was quiet for a moment. "Alec, I can take care of myself.

"I know, I…" he sighed. He didn't have time for this. They needed to close the gate. Physical barriers worked wonders against human resolve. "Look, Seth and I need you to cover us while we try to get the gates closed."

"And I shouldn't be worrying about you at all?" Sidda asked. He could practically hear the amusement in her voice.

Alec chuckled. "Not if you're covering us." He knew how hard it was on her to not be in the thick of things. He would be glad when this baby was born, if for no other reason than that it would probably make Sidda happier. She would be able to do things again, and Alec wouldn't have to worry about slow reflexes or her fainting in the middle of a fight.

"All right, get going, I've got you," Sidda said. The phone clicked and he put his own back in his jacket pocket. Though it was hard not to fall into their usual bantering mode of conversation, they knew better than to drag a conversation on too long when there were more important things to be done.

Alec gave Seth a curt nod. "She's got it. I take left, you take right?"

Seth stood up a bit to survey the situation. It wasn't too good at the moment. There were a lot of men wounded in the knees; the team had taken their cue from Sidda. This way no one could get accused of killing. But the crowd was still pressing forward, and being blocked had caused them to spread out a bit wider. It meant that there would be several frustrated people to the side of the gate who would be looking for someone to shoot at.

"Sounds good," he said, ducking back down again. "Go behind the building over there before approaching the gate… it will mean a little less time that Sidda has to worry about spotting anyone gunning for you."

They both set off, and the half-crazy plan of action actually worked fairly well. Any time Alec noticed someone gunning for him, he made a signal with his hand. A moment later, the man would drop, or his fingers would fly off, and he wouldn't be holding a gun anymore.

When Alec was around the building, he was relieved to see that Seth had made it intact as well. He wasn't sure that he could face Robin if something happened to Seth now.

They both sprinted for the gates, and there was a furious exchange of fire as both their team and Sidda tried to cover them, and the humans tried to kill them. Alec grimaced and twisted as much as he could while pulling the gate shut; he had a feeling that if Sidda hadn't been so busy covering them , she would've been laughing at this ridiculous twisty-dance thing.

He winced as several bullets grazed his thigh, and one his arm. And then one went by his hip… that was going to hurt for a little while. Damn, but he was going to take a break from assignments like these after this…

The two gates met and automatically latched together. It was too bad Everett couldn't get a proper lock on it without blowing his cover. But Everett seemed busy anyways, arguing with a group of men over to the side. Probably trying to persuade them that the mob thing wasn't such a good idea… now that so many were wounded, it actually would make sense if the stupid humans called the whole plan off.

Alec and Seth sprinted back behind their building shields, and the sound of the fighting immediately quieted. Alec sighed and ran his hand through his hair before stopping to assess the damage he'd taken. All minor wounds, nothing that would cause too much trouble, and certainly nothing he needed to worry about until the current trouble was over. Sometimes there were definite perks to being a transgenic.

Alec moved around the corner of the building, now on the side that faced the rest of TC. He looked up at Sidda's building just to check on her; he had a feeling that after this he wouldn't be able to persuade her to stay away from a rough assignment no matter what. Especially if she went through the whole thing without fainting.

He frowned as he stared at the building. He couldn't see her. He waited for a sign of movement, a shadow or a glint of light further back, but there was nothing. Great. Alec's heart started to speed up involuntarily, adrenaline seizing control of his body and filling it with an overwhelming take-action-now need.

"Seth!"

"Are you hurt?" Seth asked, already looking him over for any sign of injuries.

"No, no," Alec waved his hand, brushing away Seth's concern. "I can't see Sidda…I'm gonna go check…"

Seth nodded. "Of course." He glanced back towards the gate, where things finally seemed to be calming down. There were less and less people; now that the crowd realized that some of them had been shot, they were losing their courage. "We'll be fine here."

Alec was off. He threw open the door to the building and took the steps two at a time, for a few seconds, then shifted to a blur. It was easier on his panic-filled system. He shoved open the door to the roof and then almost groaned. Sidda was there all right, but she was laying on the roof. And from the rather awkward position she was in, he was fairly sure she hadn't just gotten tired and decided to take a nap.

He hurried over to her and knelt down. There was blood staining the concrete right around her left shoulder, and when he looked closer, he could see a darker pool of blood right near the edge.

First thing first… he checked the pulse. Good and solid. That was a relief. Her breathing seemed fairly even, even if there was a ragged edge to it every now and then. So perhaps she had just fainted?

"Sidda," Alec sighed and pulled out the bandage roll that he'd stuck in there after Seth had insisted he carry one. He'd have to thank him for that later. He checked for any other injuries, but the shoulder seemed to be the only one. So she was probably fine…

Alec cleaned some of the blood away with the edge of his t-shirt and then quickly wrapped the bandage around Sidda's shoulder once he was able to tell where the actual wound was. Just a graze, unless he's somehow forgotten every bit of field med training they'd given him at Manticore.

"You can wake up now," Alec said, smiling as he brushed back her hair from her face. But she didn't move. "Well, fine then, stay unconscious," he said, sliding his hands under her. His Sidda was always so stubborn, even when she wasn't awake. He lifted her up and started down the stairs.

Well at least he'd have a reason to ask her to stay away from the dangerous stuff now.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, wizziewoo123, BlueEyedPisces, and Jeanetteg! They are greatly appreciated, and thank you everyone who has been following along and reading. :)

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 21

Sidda looked down at her hands, unwilling to look up at Alec. He was sitting on the edge of the exam table, one hand on her leg and while the other rubbed at his face. At least when Sibil had been in here, they could talk to her. The only sound in the room right now was the quiet beeping of the fetal heart monitor that was strapped across Sidda's stomach, monitoring Bean's heartbeat, which was perfectly normal. Sibil had wanted to hook Sidda up to a monitor as well, but Sidda had convinced her it was unnecessary.

"Are you okay?" she asked, glancing over at Alec. He had been wounded in the skirmish over the gate, but they had all been superficial wounds, much like hers had been, except in greater number.

He grimaced a little. "Yeah, but Sibil could have been a little nicer patching me up." He snorted and looked over at Sidda. "At least you were still unconscious while she was working with you."

"Because being unconscious is so much fun," Sidda said, rolling her eyes. Alec turned to look out the window and the uncomfortable silence descended again. "I'm sorry," she finally said. She put her hands behind her head and stared up at the bright fluorescent lights of the exam room. "I really am, Alec, I was just…losing it back at Headquarters."

"I know," Alec said. He looked down at her, his grip on her leg tightening. "But I started losing it when you showed up at the gate."

"Sorry," Sidda offered again, her cheeks growing red. She had meant to stay completely out of the way, only taking a shot if they needed her to, but when those people had stormed to the gate, she had been unable to stop herself. She could just imagine Alec… She closed her eyes, willing those images away. "But I'm just so freakin' tired of not being able to do anything…"

"No one expects you to do anything right now, Sidda, you're pregnant," Alec said, echoing the quite valid excuse everyone used.

"So they tell me," she huffed. Lifting her right hand, she walked her index and middle fingers across her growing stomach. "Alec, I don't want to be a bother, but I'm going crazy here." She leaned her head back against the pillow. "I mean, I'm so used to go, go, go, it's hard to just sit back and watch." How could explain this to him when he wasn't going through it?

Alec sighed and rubbed his hand over her leg. "I know it's hard on you, but I can't stand the idea of you on the front lines right now, understand?"

"Yeah, I know, but that doesn't mean you have to get me regulated to pencil-pushing," she said, frowning up at him.

He frowned right back. "I'm not going to ask them to stick you on a mission, either."

"That's not what I'm asking for, Alec," she replied, narrowing her eyes at him, "You're right, I'm pregnant, but that doesn't make me incapable of doing something useful."

"Pencil-pushing is useful," he replied stubbornly, "Someone has to fill out paperwork."

"But it doesn't have to be me!" Sidda declared, pushing herself up onto her elbows so she could glare at him properly. Glaring while lying down was never as effective. "And it's not like I'm asking to go on patrols either."

"But you would, wouldn't you?" he snapped right back. He stood up from the bed and shoved his fingers through his hair. "Just to make a point, right? Just because you think you can." He turned back toward her, his arms crossed over his chest and locked there. "Sidda, just because I don't faint when I'm worried about you doesn't mean I'm not worried."

"Oh, I can't, you, OOO!" Sidda exclaimed, at a loss for a comeback right then she was so irritated. She instead sat up and grabbed the pillow from the head of the exam table and chucked it at him; useless since he caught it easily. "You're so infuriating! It's not like I want to faint, you jerk, I really can't help it!"

Alec made a face. "I know, because you do it at the worst moments." A second later, his face fell, as if he regretted that that had just came out of his mouth. "Damn it…"

Sidda jerked her head to the side as tears sprang to her eyes. Ow, that one hit home. "Sorry I'm such a pain," she said, keeping her voice even through her gritted teeth, "Next time, I'll try harder not to faint, since I can obviously control it."

"Sidda, I'm sorry, I didn't…" Alec covered his face with one hand and took a deep breath before he looked at her again. "Every time you faint is the worst moment for me."

"Nice recovery," she spat. She laid back down and rolled over onto her side, putting her back to him. Her shoulder ached as she put weight on it, but she ignored it. She heard his footsteps on the tile as he walked over and put his hand on her back.

"Sorry," he said, "I just get…this whole situation has me on edge, and then you go and pull a stunt like you did today." He trailed his fingers along her spine then put his hand flat against her back. "I don't you really get how much I don't want anything to happen to you or Bean."

"I don't want anything to happen to Bean either," Sidda mumbled, "But I don't want to be driven into insanity by boredom either." The corner of her mouth twitched into a wry smile. "I don't think he'd like having a psychotic mother."

"Especially when his dad is already a happy-go-lucky psychopath," Alec said. When Sidda glanced at him over her shoulder, he smirked at her. "That's how Logan described me once."

"I don't think it really fits," she said, turning back toward him. "But seriously, you're going to have to let me do more than read bad newspaper articles and sign off on useless stuff."

Alec's face hardened for a moment. "Because doing more than that goes so well?"

"Come on, I'm just asking for a little more slack," she said. She folded her arms over her chest, right over the baby ball. "I'm too used to being busy to be stuffed into a corner somewhere and told to knit baby booties."

"More like used to being in life or death situations," Alec grumbled. He stroked her arm, the back of his fingers brushing against her skin. "Besides, poor kid if it has to wear baby booties that you knitted." He grinned at her, trying to make her smile.

She pointedly looked away from him. "Poor kid, if he has to deal with his father's bad taste in humor."

"You love my humor," Alec insisted. He leaned forward and stole a kiss from her, forcing her reluctant lips to give into him. Just as Sidda started melting, Bean decided it was time to practice martial arts on her side, right underneath the fetal heart monitor.

"Oh…" She pulled away from Alec, wincing a little.

He raised an eyebrow. "What? Now you hate both my sense of humor and my kisses?"

"No, no, it's Bean," Sidda mumbled. As his eyes started to widen with panic, Sidda reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him back even as he started to go for the door. "Not like that, Alec. He's just kicking the daylights out of the monitor."

"Oh," Alec said, giving a halting laugh of relief, "I thought…"

"I know what you thought, worry-wart," she said, shaking her head at him and grinning. The grin was wiped away as Bean continued his sparring match. "Geez, I think he's taken a serious dislike towards that thing."

It was Alec's turn to grin. "Just like his mom," he said. He reached down and turned the monitor off before unstrapping it and putting it with the rest of the machine. "Maybe he'll calm down." He ran his hand through Sidda's hair and kissed her forehead gently.

"Hopefully so." Sidda slid Alec's hand over to the place where Bean was still kicking. "Here, let him kick you instead."

A slow grin lit his face and then dimmed for a moment. "Does it hurt?"

"Not as bad as getting shot," she said, smirking up at him.

He snorted. "Funny, Sidda."

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Robin reached over and grabbed a pencil off of the tray near her hand. With quick strokes, she tried to catch Joshua's face, but he kept moving, never staying in one place for long. Smiling, Robin brushed her long bangs back from her face and leaned over her sketch again.

"Josh, stay still? For a minute?" she asked, grinning over at the transhuman. She was trying to sketch portraits of the T.C. residents and had found that starting with the ones in the Cultural Center was best. Most of them stayed still or in similar positions for longs periods of time, so they were easier than trying to catch someone at HQ or the gym.

"Sorry, sorry, Robin," Joshua said. He smiled at her apologetically as he turned away from his painting. "I'm trying."

"I know, and I wouldn't want to interrupt your creative flow."

They were in Joshua's main studio, the big one with lots of space for people to work in. Joshua currently wasn't teaching a class, but there were still people in here. Dalton was in one corner, fighting with an easel and Jaz at the same time. The snarky X6 girl was sitting behind the lanky blond teenager, making suggestions about his painting, and it looked like he didn't really appreciate all of those suggestions. Every now and then, Robin would hear him snap at her and then her snap right back. There were a few other people in the room, but they were mostly keeping to themselves and their paintings.

It had been two months after the humans had attacked the front gates, and most of the city had been quiet since then. No Familiar attacks and no hate group attacks and no one had died. As far as Everett could tell, Telic was biding its time, waiting for the best possible moment to strike, and everyone seemed to think it'd be a few months from now, giving everyone time to prepare. Some people had even headed out to the farm, mostly to start planting crops or whatever they were planning.

Robin sat back in her chair, resting her weight on her legs. She was personally greatly enjoying the momentary peace that Terminal City was experiencing. Peace meant that Seth got to stay home with her and Taylor and none of her friends were in immediate danger. Of course, so much peace had its consequences.

There had been some talk for the past week or so about starting up missions for the government again, and Seth's name had been thrown out a lot. Of course, Robin always threw glares at whoever suggested him. It was unlikely that anyone would get sent with the Familiar-threat still at large, but that didn't mean she had to listen to people talk about how Seth would be a great mission leader.

She hated the idea of him going off again to some dangerous place, and if he went, she was going to. Taylor would just need someone to watch her, and if it was anytime soon, Sidda and Alec could do it since Sidda wouldn't be going anywhere soon.

The eight-month pregnant woman was in Joshua's smaller studio, looking for something to do amid all of his paints and projects. The smaller studio was mainly for Joshua, so anything that he thought was interesting got hauled back there for him to play with later. Sidda had disappeared in there thirty minutes ago, so that meant she had either found something to do or she had fallen asleep on the couch. Either options were viable.

Robin turned her attention back to her sketch. Joshua was almost finished, at least in this sketchy, quick form. If she could ever get him to stay still for longer than, who knows, two minutes, she would be able to draw a better picture. As if was, she was going to be lucky if she could get him not to look so blobby and malformed.

"Robin having a good time?" Joshua asked, glancing over his shoulder.

Robin grinned. "Yeah. I just want to get these done so they can go out in the hall." She was planning to put the sketches up in the halls of Cultural Center, near the offices or rooms where these people usually were. For the people who weren't usually at the Cultural Center, she would give the sketches to their mates or whatever.

"The halls are nicer now, good murals," Joshua said, nodding his head.

Robin looked around the room. It was covered in a mural of the Seattle skyline, as it would have looked before the Pulse. Joshua had looked at books for weeks before even starting this project, and it had really paid off. She grinned at him. "I think this room is the best though," she said, "It's really awesome, Joshua."

Joshua grinned proudly. "Try very hard to make studio look good. Think it's good now."

"It's great, everyone loves it," Robin said. She added a couple more strokes to her sketch as Joshua turned back to his painting.

"Supposed to be for everyone," he said, "No use if they don't like it." He flung paint at the canvas, and then stuck his fingers into another can of paint. He drug his fingernails across the painting, scratching through multiple layers of paint.

Robin flipped her sketchbook over, giving up on catching Joshua right now. Maybe she would tell him she would fix him a steak dinner if he would just sit still long enough for her to get a proper sketch.

She started going through the sketches she had already done, watching them get better as she flipped from beginning to end. Thanks to spending so much time in the Cultural Center and giving lessons now, her own skills had improved drastically. A lot of them at the front were of Seth or Taylor, since they were the two people she could get to stay still the longest and she saw them the most. Quite a few were of Taylor sleeping and then Seth in profile. Her husband had such a nice profile, very handsome, something she could look at for hours…

Grinning, she flipped the page. Ah, Alec, asleep on the couch. And then one of Sidda, curled up in a chair reading. And Mona standing near the window; she might as well have been a statue, since that's when she was keeping a look-out for Everett. More transgenics appeared in her sketchbook, most of them focused on artwork of some type, and then there were some sketches of inanimate objects from her house.

Closing the sketchbook, Robin rested her arms on the table and looked over at her cell phone. Seth was in a meeting with Max and some of the others; they had gotten information from the team over in Washington D.C., so they had been going over that all day. Robin had volunteered to help, but she hadn't put up a fuss when Seth said she didn't have to. Decoding all those notes would have been a pain, and she wasn't in the mood to sit at a desk and go over information like that.

"You done with your sketch?" Joshua asked, glancing at her.

Robin shrugged. "For now. I'll finish it later." When Joshua's shoulder dropped, Robin smirked. "Unless you want me to do it now?"

"Whatever Robin likes," Joshua said, but his expression was pleading.

"Sure, Joshua, but try not to flail around too much," she said, opening her sketchbook again.

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"So, let me get this straight," Max said, frowning at the papers in front of her, "There are Familiars in Washington, but they're not doing anything right now?"

Beside her, Logan shrugged. "That's what the reports say."

"But why?" she asked, leaning back in her chair, "You'd think they'd at least be trying to get bills passed against us or something."

Across from her at the table, Seth leaned forward and looked at one of the notepads lying in front of him. All of the information they had received from their spies in Washington had come in this coded, yellow notepad form through special mail carriers. "Either that or working for us to make them look sympathetic towards us." He looked over at Max. "That'd be a good cover-up for hating us."

"Don't see why we don't just take care of 'em before they take care of us," Mole said. The transhuman was sitting at the end of the conference table, scowling down at one of the notepads.

"Is that always your answer?" Max asked, rolling her eyes at him, "Kill them before they kill us?"

The big transhuman just looked at her and talked around the chewed-up cigar in his mouth. "Yeah."

Making a face, Max glanced over at Logan. "I just wish I knew what they were up to."

Alec, who was sitting back with his feet on the table, tossed the notepad he was holding back toward Seth. "Maybe it's all just a cover-up for something bigger," he said, letting out a low, amused whistle, "Might as well throw in a conspiracy theory."

"Alec, be serious," Max said, looking like she would really like to throw one of the notebooks at his head.

"Familiar takeover without transgenic intervention would play into their hands," Seth said, nodding his head slowly, "And by not attacking us for so long, it's likely that they're waiting."

"Calm before the storm?" Logan asked, glancing over at Seth.

"It's possible," Seth replied, "By just sitting back and doing nothing, they're not arousing our suspicion."

"But the Familiars who attacked us before—" Max started but Alec cut her off.

"That was White and his whackos, right?" he said, "So maybe White's not following the plan anymore."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Logan said. The human sat back in his chair and ran a pencil along the edge of a plank page. "He's loyal to the cause, but it's the overall cause, I think, not whatever his superiors tell him."

"So, Pinhead's running wild while the rest of the little shits are trying to find some other way to off us?" Mole asked, "Huh. This gets better and better. People can't even run a proper cult anymore."

"That, or White's playing the distraction bit," Logan said. He stood up and paced along the table, his arms folded with one hand resting on his chin. He turned back towards the others and then pointed at the notebooks. "White's job may be to confuse us, throw us off the actual trail."

"But what the hell is the actual trail?" Alec asked. He pulled his feet off the table and set them on the ground. "For all we know, they could be coming up with an anti-transgenic virus to go along with the death-to-humanity thing."

"Or just a big attack," Seth said, "They might know more about us than we think we do."

"See, this is why we should just go in and shoot 'em…" Mole said, shoving an index finger in Max's direction.

Max ignored him. She sat back and glanced out the window, her fingers playing along the arms of the chair she was sitting in. It made sense, somehow, that the Familiars weren't doing anything so as to not attract attention from anyone. That way, if something did happen to the transgenics, the humans wouldn't start looking anywhere. Not that they would care, but there were a few transgenic-sympathetic ones, and those might start uncovering secrets about the Familiars. No, it was better to wait, to not do anything until that one moment where they could be certain that no one would trace it back to them.

"Or we could all be shooting in the dark," Logan said, breaking the silence as they all thought to themselves.

All four transgenics stared at him in varying states of confusion until he realized that the saying meant nothing to them. All of them could see in the dark and could shoot someone just as well whether it was light or dark. Living with transgenics never was easy…

"What I mean," Logan said, giving a heavy sigh, "Is that maybe we're getting nowhere and all we're doing is making suggestions that may or may not be true." He looked over at Max. "I think we need more information before jump to conclusions."

Max nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right. We'll just get them to dig deeper, maybe they'll find something."

"I wouldn't mind knowing what they were up to," Seth said, thumbing through one of the notebooks, "I don't like how they haven't made a move yet."

"I would say that you could go do some recon, but I think Robin would flay me," Max said, smiling at the other X5, "But if we don't hear anything soon, I may reconsider that."

After a little while longer, the meeting ended and Mole left, saying that he had to go do a weapons inventory or something, leaving the X5s and Logan in the conference room. Max sighed and sat down on the table. "Sometimes I just wish we had Familiar-seeking missiles that we could launch from here…"

"I think Dix is working on that," Alec joked. He grinned and pushed back from the table. "But, you know, if we had that, who would we fight?"

"Besides the rest of the world, you mean?" she groaned. Shaking her head, she looked over at Logan, taking some strength from him. "I'd be nice to have at least one problem gone."

Seth smiled at her, trying to be encouraging. "We're going to handle it, Max. Just not with missiles."

"Syl would prefer the missile approach too," Max said, but she didn't seem as depressed. She tossed a glance at Logan. "Do you need me to go pick up anything for dinner tonight?"

"What she means," Alec said, standing up and grabbing his jacket, "Is do you need her to steal anything?" He grinned when Max gave him one of his death glares.

"Out, Alec," she said, jerking her thumb towards the door.

Alec held up his hands, feigning innocence. "I was going already." He looked over at Seth, who was also getting up from the table. "You heading over to the Cultural Center too?"

"Yeah, that's where Robin is," Seth said, "She's doing a sketching project."

"Really?" Alec said. He raised an appreciative eyebrow. "Maybe we could get her to sketch Ordinaries and then sell the sketches…"

"Or we can just enjoy them like she wants us to," Seth said, smirking at his best friend.

Alec grinned right back. "She'll enjoy what we can get with the money."

Seth rolled his eyes and looked back at Max and Logan. "We'll see—"

Seth was cut off by what sounded like a huge roll of thunder, and the HQ shaking beneath their feet. Seth grabbed the table while Max jumped off the table, her eyes wide. As the shaking passed, they all stared at each other for a moment.

"Was that an earthquake?" Logan asked, thoroughly confused now.

Alec and Seth shared at look. They both knew that wasn't an earthquake. At the same moment, Max's cell phone went off, its shrill cry loud in the quiet room. She snatched it up from the table, hoping the news wasn't too bad. "Hello? _What?_" The color drained from her face, leaving a strange paleness under her tan skin. Her hand darted out and grabbed the edge of the desk, as if she needed to steady herself. "No, that can't be right, there's no way…I'll be right there." She hung up the phone and turned toward the others, her eyes round and panicked.

"What?" Logan asked, stepping towards her. He touched her arm. "Max?"

"They bombed the Cultural Center."


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you to wizziewoo123, BlueEyedPisces, x5, and tre for reviewing the last chapter! I hope you guys are really enjoying the story and like this chapter! :)

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 22

"Guys? Is everyone okay?" Robin scrambled through the splintered wreckage of easels, pieces of roof and random objects that had fallen from above. She coughed into her shirt sleeve; it was really hard to breathe, much less see, with all the thick white dust in here. Her wrist was exploding with pain, as if it had been shattered and the shards of bone were working their way out of her arm. And now the pain was fading away…a little…

She heard some faint moans, and her heart practically hammered with relief. Someone was alive. If they were hurt, whatever. She would keep them alive until help came.

"Robin? Over here." A rough, scratchy female voice, also struggling with the dust.

"Jaz?"

"Yeah, Dalton's here too. His face is covered with splinters." Robin's hand went to her mouth as she tried to suppress a gag reflex. The thought of Dalton, all cut up like that… she wished Seth was here. He was a trained field medic, she just knew first battle response aid… But then again, she was very glad that he was far away in that meeting.

"I'm coming," she said. She narrowed her eyes, trying to make shapes out through the haze. "Well, I'll try to come," she finished. She'd been lucky that she hadn't been pinned. There was wreckage everywhere, and Robin had a bad feeling that she was still trapped in a relatively small area.

Over a beam of wood, around a turned-over table…she almost stumbled over Joshua. And the huge block of wood sitting on his chest… it looked like it had been part of one of the sturdy drawing tables.

"Joshua!" she cried out, falling to her knees. She shoved the table section off his chest and waited for a moment to see if he'd answer back. He didn't respond so Robin quickly put her fingers to his pulse. It was steady and even. Ok, so just unconscious, thank God. A quick glance-over confirmed that her guess was probably right; there was a bloody mark on one side of his temple. Either way, he couldn't be moved. There was no telling what the table bit had done to him.

"Well then." Robin sighed and leaned back, surveying the wall of wreckage in front of her. "I can't get through, guys. I'm going to stay here with Joshua. You ok with that, Jaz?"

"Guess I'll have to be," Jaz murmured, her voice barely audible.

Robin leaned back against the wall and cradled her throbbing wrist to her chest. She was pretty sure she'd sprained it or broken it when she'd been flung against the ground. She was glad she couldn't see her face, because based on the soreness and the stickiness she'd felt when she'd touched it, it wasn't in such hot shape either.

Where was Sidda? Oh, God…in the other room…

She suddenly realized that there was an uncomfortable pressure against her thigh, and she suddenly remembered that she had her cell phone with her at the same time that it started buzzing.

"Please be Sidda," she whispered, pulling it out. She didn't like not having any way of knowing if her friend was ok or not. She knew Sidda had her phone with her, so it was possible… but when Robin glanced at the phone, it was Seth calling. Another voice she needed to hear, but one she knew was safe. Well, perhaps Sidda had only fainted from the stress and would wake up soon. Then maybe she would call Robin.

"Seth," she breathed into the phone.

"You're all right. Robin, I—I was worried."

"What happened?" she asked. "We were just sitting here, and then everything collapsed. It was almost like a bomb had gone off or something."

"It did," Seth said quietly. "Everett found out that Telic was going to do it, but not soon enough. He called us seconds after it went off."

"They did this?" she whispered. More emotional than usual, she couldn't stop tears from forming, but she brushed her eyes before they could fall. "How could they? Why? This isn't strategic, this is just hateful. The Cultural Center is the most peaceful place in Terminal City."

"They don't care," Seth said bitterly. There were some voices in the background, then Seth's voice became more businesslike, though it still had a caressing note to it. "Love, are you hurt? Is anyone else hurt? Any information you can give us would be helpful."

Robin drew a deep breath. "I'm not too bad…something might be wrong with my wrist, might've hit my face a little. But that's it. Joshua's unconscious, and he has a wound on his temple. Also, something really heavy fell on his chest. Jaz is….you ok, Jaz?" she called out.

"My leg's pinned and probably broken, but other than that, yeah," Jaz said.

Robin repeated that to Seth and then went on, listing out injuries. Then she hesitated. "And I don't know what's up with Sidda. She was in Joshua's small studio, and we haven't heard from her yet."

There was silence for a moment, then Seth's voice was softer. "Well, just keep trying to call her. She could be ok, maybe she just fainted…"

Robin smiled a bit. "I'm hoping that's the case too," Robin said.

"Well, we're digging now, so I'll see you soon, ok? Be careful of that wrist. I love you."

"Love you too." Robin hung up, then flinched as some of the debris settled around her and a few more pieces of stuff fell dangerously close.

"Wonderful," Jaz said. "It's not settled yet.

"My thoughts exactly," Robin muttered. She hunched in a little closer to what seemed like a relatively safe corner, then opened her cell phone again. She might as well keep trying to call Sidda; there wasn't much else she could do at the moment.

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"Oh…wow….That was fun." Sidda started to move, then flopped back against the couch. No, moving definitely wasn't a good idea yet. Her head was slightly dizzy, and things just felt weird and out of focus. Not a good time to move.

She was curled up on her knees on the couch… what, why? That wasn't comfortable. Cautiously, she looked out at the very-changed small studio. Was something wrong with her vision? Nope, there were definitely lots of dust particles in the air. She sneezed as they tickled her nose.

And then she focused in on the bits of wood and metal and… possibly part of a piano that littered the room. Oh yeah. Suddenly she remembered. Loud explosive noise, everything falling, her curling up to protect the baby. Well, she must have fainted again, damn it all.

She started to sit up properly so that she could get a better look at her stomach and make sure the baby was all right, but she didn't get very far before a sudden intense pain in her leg caused her to flop back to the couch, twisting sideways to land on her side.

"Okay, you've been through worse," Sidda coached herself. "At least you know the leg is there." Slowly, she moved again, bracing herself with her palms. Then she looked over her shoulder.

Oh. Her leg… well, it looked like some crazy-psycho torturer from the middle ages had decided she was a vampire, had then decided to kill her, and then had proved he had very bad aim. A huge stake of wood went all the way through her leg and into the couch, effectively pinning her in place.

"Alec is so going to kill me," she muttered, carefully easing herself back down again. She lay on her side as much as she could to relieve the pressure on Bean. She gasped as Bean gave her a good hard kick as if telling her that he wasn't pleased at all with the current situation that they were in.

"Yeah, I'm not thrilled either," she muttered. But hey, at least Bean was okay. And she wasn't bad off either. Which reminded her that she really should call Alec and reassure him. He was probably freaking out right about now, especially if she'd been unconscious for any length of time.

Sidda reached for the cell phone that had been on the table near the couch; miraculously, though the table had fallen over, the cell phone was still in easy reach. Good thing, because Sidda doubted that she could stand pulling the stake out of herself. With her luck today, she'd probably faint and then just bleed to death.

She had twenty something missed calls, so she must have definitely passed out. Most of them were from Alec and Robin, with a few from Seth and Max thrown in the mix. At least Robin was okay; she had to be if she was well enough to call her that many times. She called Alec's number back, and tried to find a comfortable position. She could hear banging somewhere distant, so she guessed that the rescue crew was already on its way.

Alec answered before the first ring was finished. "God, are you all right? Where are you?"

Relief washed through her, and Sidda let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. She had hoped that Alec was perfectly safe, but still, it was nice to hear his voice. "Hey, schnookims," she tried joking, hopefully relieving some of his stress, "I'm in what was the Cultural Center. I think I passed out when it, uh, collapsed." She looked around the room, wondering how much of the Cultural Center was still standing and how much had landed around her. She was probably breathing in particles from paintings and sculptures. "What happened?"

"It was bombed by those Telic bastards," Alec spat. There was a pause. "Sidda, are you all right?"

She thought she had skillfully avoided that question, but Alec wasn't easy to fool. "Nothing's crushed or broken." That was the truth, if you were ignoring the fact that the stake had broke her skin and crushed some muscles and blood vessels. "Bean's fine."

Alec took a deep breath. "Sidda. One more time now. And don't lie to me. Are you hurt?"

Sidda sighed and leaned against the side of the couch. "Yes."

He sucked in his breath quickly and then gave a low growl. "How bad?"

"It's fixable," she replied. She could hear him talking to someone else, probably Seth, seeing how they had both been at the meeting with Max. "Oh, by the way, I'm really sorry about your piano." She glanced over at the piano that had fallen in the studio from one of the upper floors. "I actually can't tell if it's yours, but I'm guessing by size, shape and general condition that…"

"Are you bleeding?" Alec asked, paying full attention to her again. "Where are you hurt?"

"It's not bleeding because it's sort of keeping itself from bleeding," she said, knowing she wasn't making much sense. She didn't want to worry him, but if she didn't tell him, he would eventually hand the phone over to Seth, who would demand medical details, and then Seth would tell him anyway. "There's a two foot long one and a half inch wide wooden stake in my leg. I sort of can't move…I'm stuck to the couch." Sidda had an awful mental picture of her suffocating on the fumes and paint dust down here and then Alec finding her, stuck to the couch like a bug to a plaque. "I can still wiggle my toes, so it didn't sever any really important tendons." It was long, not wide.

Alec let out a few curses and then said in a softer tone, "Don't move, all right, Sidda? Don't take it out or anything. I'm coming for you…just stay still."

Sidda gave a small laugh. "I can't really go anywhere, Alec, so I don't think you need to worry."

"Look, stay close to the phone. Call Robin and keep talking. We're digging as fast as we can."

"Alec?" Sidda sat up a little straighter and pressed the phone to her ear as she remembered something important. "Mona was on the fifth floor, has she called Everett yet?" There was silence, and Sidda's heart started beating faster. "Alec?"

"No, nothing yet, but that doesn't mean anything, all right, Sidda?" Alec said, "Just…I'll be there soon. I love you, Sidda."

"Okay," Sidda said, chewing on her bottom lip. "I love you, too, Alec."

The phone clicked off after a moment. Sidda stared at it before scrolling down to Robin's number. She punched the call button and just like Alec, Robin picked up after the first ring was over.

"Are you okay?" Robin demanded, "I've been calling for half an hour now."

"I'm basically fine, and sorry, I must've dozed off." She felt bad about the joke, but she couldn't help it. She had to say something to lighten the mood. "Are you all right? How is everyone over there?"

"Nothing besides a sprained wrist—" which meant that it was probably actually broken and Robin was experiencing her usual injury euphoria "—and some minor facial injuries. Nothing to write Manticore about."

Sidda smiled at the old joke. "So you're okay?" She had to know that Robin was okay.

"Yes, I'll be fine," Robin said. There was no need to say she had had worse; they both knew Robin's history. As long as the unstable building didn't collapse around them, she would pull through.

"And the others?" Sidda asked.

"Joshua just woke up. He's a little out of it," Robin said, "He's trying to pretend he isn't injured."

"I'm starting to think that runs in the family," Sidda replied, "Is Dalton okay?" She remembered that her favorite X6 was over there.

"I don't know, really," Robin said, and Sidda grabbed the couch cushions to steady herself. "No, I mean, he's alive, it's just I'm not sure how injured he is. I can't get to him, there's stuff in the way." Her breathing was a little rapid, and Sidda guessed that the small enclosed space was probably bothering her. Robin wasn't really fond of small spaces and being trapped in one like this was probably going to make her crazy after a while.

"Well, hey, at least he's okay," Sidda said. A brief spell of dizziness passed over her, and she laid back down on her side as much as was possible. Damn leg. "I'm guessing you called Seth?"

"Yeah, he's with the digging crew," she said, "Turns out there was an Ordinary building crew nearby, and they saw what happened. They came over to help."

Sidda perked up, confusion taking over her. "Are they sure they're not Telic in disguise?"

"No, I don't think they are, not from what Seth said," Robin replied. Above them, the wreckage shifted again, sending small pieces of the building to the ground and more dust to fill the room. Sidda coughed, and she could hear Robin doing the same thing on the other end of the line. She let out a snorting laugh. "We can't go out like this," she said, "So we're not allowed to die, got it? We're going to die with guns blazing, fighting Familiars. And I'll kill more of them than you." It was better to joke right now, or she was either going to faint or collapse into tears.

"Doubt it," Robin said on the other line. She either humoring Sidda or needed the same treatment. "I'm better with guns than you are."

Sidda coughed a little more and moved the phone away for a moment as a spasm of pain from her leg climbed up her thigh. "Is this a challenge?"

"If that's what you need, then sure, consider it a challenge."

"You know me so well."

00000000000000000000000000000

"Shit." Alec said quietly. He closed his eyes and looked away, out towards Seattle. Not that he could really see it; piles of the debris they had already removed were in the way.

Seth looked the other way, farther along the building, to where Everett was frantically working with another digging crew. He had sent his whole batch of Ordinaries into awe over his determined one-man struggle with the building. He, unlike most of them, hadn't heard any news about his mate.

"I guess we have to tell him." Seth said. He didn't want to be the one to tell Everett, but better him than an Ordinary. Everett… Everett might lose it if an Ordinary told him. Especially since Ordinaries caused this.

"Are you kidding?" Alec asked. "Right now?"

"Would you want someone to not tell you?" Seth asked sharply. He would never want the news that something had happened to Robin, but even worse would be not knowing.

Seth knelt down next to Mona and stared at her blue and black cheek. He carefully turned her head; her neck had snapped when she'd either been hit or had fallen. He closed the eyelids over her blank, staring eyes and then sat back. At least Everett wouldn't see her in agony. She almost looked at peace now.

"We better get the rest of this off of her if we're going to tell Everett," Alec said, resigned to the idea. "We can at least do that much for him."

Seth nodded and the two of them set to clearing the stone away, quickly and efficiently. Both were quiet, thinking about how easily it could've been their mates they were uncovering. If their mates had been in their own studios, if they had been closer to the wall, closer to where the bomb was… anything could've been different.

"I'll go tell Everett if you want to keep working," Seth said, nodding towards the area where Joshua's studio was. Unfortunately, it was pretty close to the center of the building, but at least they were almost there.

Alec nodded, and Seth set off. Since Alec had been so reluctant to say anything, it wouldn't have been fair to ask him to talk to Everett. And Seth, being a field medic, had had a little practice delivering bad news before.

"Everett…" He drew Everett away from the rest of his team. Everett took one look at Seth's face, and Seth knew that Everett knew.

"You found her…"

Seth nodded and led Everett back to where Mona was. Everett didn't say anything; he simply half-crumbled to the ground next to her and gathered her body up in his arms. He pressed his face into her and stayed silent.

This was a good time for Seth to leave… he knew Everett needed to be alone right now. He'd have as much support as he needed, ready when he was. But now he needed to work through his grief, and unfortunately, his guilt. Seth knew that Everett was going to feel guilty because of his involvement with Telic. He would feel like he'd failed the mission.

As soon as Seth was closer to Alec he called Max and let her know what the situation with Everett was. Even if they left him alone, someone would need to keep an eye on him to make sure that he didn't do anything drastic. Max immediately knew what Seth was suggesting and agreed to have a few people keep an eye on him.

Once that was settled, Seth rejoined Alec in the clearing and digging.

They hated it, but they had to go slower now and be more careful. Every little bit moved around and caused things in the building to shift a bit more, and all they needed was another horrific collapse. It had already happened once on a small section on the right side of the building when the transgenics had stopped paying attention to the Ordinary crew there. No one was killed from the collapse, but they certainly weren't making that mistake again.

"We should be through in any minute," Alec grunted, taking out his frustration on the piece of rubble that he tossed farther away than was necessary.

"I think a few feet more and we'll be able to hear them," Seth said.

And then, there they were. The voices. A quiet murmur, but to transgenic hearing, it was possible to distinguish separate voices.

"Robin!" Seth started digging faster, barely stopping to remember and feel for any shifts that his digging might cause. "Robin, we're coming!"

"Seth!" He could hear movement on the other side, and more voices. "Seth, thank goodness, it's so closed in here…" He heard a hitch at the end of her voice, and he suddenly remembered Robin's fear of small spaces. His mate was down there, afraid, and in need of his help. He was desperate to get through now, to lift her up and out to safety.

"If Robin's there…" Alec paused, thinking and calculating based on the map of the layout that was in his head. He rushed off to the left. "Sidda!" he called. He had to be standing near the smaller studio now. He turned around and yelled at one of the bigger work crews. "Hey, we found some people! We could use your help!"

The small crew that Alec and Seth had been leading was still with Seth, digging out the bigger room. Which was only right. But still, one extra guy could be very helpful.

Alec returned to his digging, not even waiting to see if any of the Ordinaries were coming to help him. "Sidda?" he called again.

It was faint, but he heard a reply. "Yo, Alec, down here."

Alec chuckled, feeling almost giddy with relief. He'd found the right spot. He was a little more careful than Seth now; after all, Sidda wasn't panicking, and he didn't want anything else to fall in. He was joined by two Ordinaries, and it wasn't long before he got through, peeking his head into the hole they had made.

"Well, hey," Sidda said, drawing his attention to a dusty couch with her tiny form on it. She coughed and then gave him a weak grin. "Bad day to go spelunking, hun, but I ain't complaining."

He beamed back at her, intensely relieved to find her alive and joking around. "Go get one of the doctors," Alec ordered as soon as he saw Sidda lying on the couch. "Tell them we have a pregnant woman with a stake pinning her down."

They ran off, and Alec moved in as best he could; it was difficult to avoid knocking his head against things.

"Watch it, giant," Sidda said, smiling a tight smile and extending her hand to him. "We don't need more ceiling coming down."

He grasped her hand and knelt down next to her, stroking her arm, her face, her hair. They kissed for a moment—well, a long moment. His hands twined themselves in her hair and the kiss deepened into a French kiss before he remembered why she hadn't moved much. Alec then broke away and turned to look at her leg.

He automatically winced. "Damn."

"No kidding," Sidda said, shifting restlessly. "It's in at a very awkward angle too. But luckily you have your own crew of slaves now?"

"Oh, yeah, the world would love that one. I can see it in the papers now…" He spread out the hand that wasn't holding Sidda's in front of him. "Transgenic Plot to Takeover World: Humans Become Slaves!"

Sidda giggled, then tightened her hand as another spasm traveled up her leg. "Ugh, I can't wait to get this out," she said. "How far are the doctors?"

"Not too far, I think," he said. "They're sort of spread out." He glanced back at the hole he'd made in the debris. "I could go get Seth. He's nearby, digging Robin and them out. They should be through by now."

He started to stand up, but Sidda yanked him back down. "Oh, no, you don't," she said firmly. "Let them have their moment. And anyway, a few extra minutes won't hurt me." She looked at him seriously. "Speaking of hurt… has anyone? Been hurt, I mean."

Alec brushed his hand down the side of her face. "Yeah. I don't think anyone's getting out of here completely fine." He glanced down at her leg again and grimaced. "Of course, I don't think many were speared to furniture."

"I'm special like that," she mumbled. She pulled his hand close and rested the back of it against her forehead, taking some sort of comfort from the contact. He turned his hand around and brushed it down the side of her face, cupping her cheek. "Did anyone die?"

"Yes," he answered truthfully, after a couple moments had passed. He wanted to tell her that everything was fine, that no one had died during the bombing, but he wasn't going to lie to her. "There were people on the upper floors, and not many of them made it. We're down at least ten people."

"Anyone we…" Her hazel eyes peered at him through the dimness, asking a question that he didn't want to answer. She was probably thinking about people she had known were upstairs; she might have even thought of Mona immediately.

"Sidda, let it go for now," Alec said, trailing his fingers down her face, "You'll find out soon enough." He couldn't bear for her to burst into tears right now, or worse, faint.

Sidda gave a slow, defeated nod. "Okay…"

Sighing, he played with her hair, yet again relieved that it had been Mona and not her, and then feeling guilty for being so relieved. Damn it…He couldn't imagine being in Everett's place right now, though for the first few minutes after the call had come in, he had been certain that he was. Living without Sidda…He closed his eyes and held on tight to her hand, feeling her steady pulse through her skin. He'd rather not think about that.

There was scrambling at the hole Alec and the Ordinaries had made, and Alec turned to see Sibil and another medic hurrying through the wreckage. Both of them looked at the stake with visible shock for a second before leaping into action.

"Is she conscious?" Sibil asked as she bent down next to Alec, pressing her fingers against Sidda's throat to read a pulse.

Sidda squeezed Alec's hand and tossed a wry look at Sibil. "Couldn't you just ask me that question?"

Sibil snapped on a pair of gloves while her assistant started cutting Sidda's pant's leg away from the stake. "I could, but expecting a truthful answer about your health is sometimes a lost cause." She glanced at Alec. "I know this is hard, but if you could move to a more convenient location…"

Alec frowned for a moment before moving over, not letting Sidda's hand go since she had a death-grip on his. He could tell by the look on her face that she was trying not to cry out whenever the assistant touched the stake, and Alec had to remind himself that the medic was helping so he wouldn't snap at the guy.

While Alec resituated himself, Sibil reached into her EMT bag and started pulling out equipment. "Sidda, I need you to cooperate with me, all right? No complaining right now." she said.

"But complaining to you is so much fun," Sidda said, smirking at the other woman who went about her business, ignoring the younger transgenic.

While she fitted an oxygen mask over Sidda's nose and mouth and moved on to taking her blood pressure, Sibil looked over at Alec. "Do you think you can carry her out of here? She's not going to be walking anywhere on that leg, and she'd be in a lot less pain if we went ahead and sedated her."

"Yeah," Alec said, "No problem."

"You just like carrying me places," Sidda said, her voice muffled. She looked over at Sibil, her eyebrows knit together in suspicion. "Will it hurt the baby?"

"No, it'll be fine," Sibil tutted at her. "And it'd be better if you didn't talk and just breathed."

"Which is a hard request for you, I know," Alec said, keeping a smile on his face as he looked down at Sidda. He moved so that Sidda didn't have to strain to look up at him, putting his chin on the arm of the couch, and kept her attention on him while Sibil prepped a needle to sedate her with. "Hey, so what about those baby names? What do you think of the name Sophie? I sort of like it, since it starts with an 's,' like Sidda."

"No. Bean's a boy," Sidda said, her voice quiet but firm. "I told you hundred times."

He squeezed her hand, trying to keep her from fainting. "You're not psychic, and you're not supposed to talk."

"Too bad," she muttered, her cheeky smile obscured by the mask. Her eyes widened for a moment and then she slowly fell to her side, her hand going limp in his. He shot forward, ready to shake her back awake, but Sibil caught his arm.

"This is best, she won't feel it," Sibil said, dropping the used needle back into her bag, "Now come on and help Jex with the stake, that sedative a quick-acter, but it won't last long, you know."

000000000000

Back over the main studio, the work crews had finally found a safe way down into the studio. Seth was the first through, claiming that he was a medic, which he was, although at the moment that wasn't his first priority. He shoved himself through the small hole and looked around the dusty room through the fading light.

"Robin!" he shouted, uncertain of where his mate was in all this rubble.

"Seth, over here!" she replied, and he shot off toward where her voice had come from as fast as he could go through the wreckage. He vaulted over a couple of support beams that had fallen from two stories up. He knew that there were other people here who needed his help, but damn it, he was going to get to Robin first.

He found her leaning against the wall with her cell phone in her hand and her forehead pressed against her knees. She glanced up, her blue eyes wide with a fear he had never seen before.

"Seth," she whispered as he went immediately to her side, "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was going to happen…"

He dropped down beside her and gathered her to him, pulling her close and holding her tight, although he was careful of her obviously broken wrist. He kissed her, silencing her before she apologize for anything else that wasn't in any way her fault. He trailed his kisses from her mouth to her cheek, tasting the dust that had settled there from the air. They sat still for a moment, his cheek pressed against hers while he just listened to the reassuring sound of her breathing.

"Seth," she mumbled, her breath brushing over his skin, "You're sort of crushing me…"

"Sorry," he said, immediately loosening his hold, but he was reluctant to let go of her. More of the rescue team had come down through the opening and started assessing the other people in the studio. Glancing down at Robin, he tried to get a good look at her wrist, but she was holding it away from her.

Carefully, he moved out from under her and knelt beside her. "How are you feeling?" Now that he got a good look at her face, he was ready to go kick some Telic ass. She had a small series of abrasions across the right side of her face, probably from falling concrete. There was dried blood and gravel across her cheek, and he reached out to gently touch it. "Does this hurt?" he asked gently, knowing that it probably did. He brushed his hands over her arms and legs, looking for broken bones besides her wrist. "Are you aching anywhere in particular?"

Robin reached out and took his hands. "I just want to get out of here, Seth, please?" She looked longingly at the hole in the roof before looking back to him. "Just get me out of here, and you can examine me all you want once we're out, I just want out."

Her desperate insistence put Seth into immediate action. Although he knew her legs were fine, he swept her up into his arms. X5s were meant to endure a lot, but Robin had been underground for four hours and with her fear of enclosed spaces, that must have been torture. She put her arms around his neck and rested her head against his chest, listening to his heart beat.

Seth carried her up and out of the hole, past the crew of Ordinaries and transgenics who were working together to clear out more room. He headed straight to the makeshift ambulance, holding her close so she wouldn't look at the wreckage. He didn't want her to go into shock or anything right now.

When he reached the ambulance, which was really a truck they were using to shuttle people and supplies back and forth from the infirmary, he set her down on the edge and grabbed a nearby medkit.

"How's Taylor?" Robin asked. She sat still as he rummaged around in the bag.

"She's fine, she's with Elaine," Seth said. Headquarters and its adjacent buildings had been entirely unharmed; only the Cultural Center had been struck. "I'm more worried about you at the moment. Are you in pain?"

"I'll be fine, Seth," Robin said, letting out a sigh, "I'm just glad to be in open air instead of underground."

Seth wanted to tell him just how glad he was that she was safe, but he couldn't find the right words to express his relief. Instead, he brushed her hair back from her face and briefly kissed her lips."I'm going to take care of you."

"I know," she replied, smiling weakly at him.

Grey was sitting farther up in the bed of the truck, bent down and working on another transgenic, this one an X6 who had been crushed in the fall. The co-commander of the infirmary looked over at Seth. "Do you need help?"

Seth shook his head. At the moment, he didn't want anyone touching Robin besides him. He stood in front of her as he examined her, taking her pulse on her uninjured wrist. The other one was swollen, obviously from a bad break. He had known when she started to say that it was a sprain that it was bad; Robin's ability to ignore injury made it difficult to assess just how bad off she was unless she was right in front of you. Her heartbeat was slower than normal but steady.

"Robin, did anything fall on you?" he asked as he shone a penlight in her eyes.

Robin shook her head and the edges of her mouth twitched up. "Doctor mode much?"

He shook his head at her. "Just let me do this, all right?"

"I'm not complaining," she said, putting her hands in her lap. Seth glanced down at her wrist, wondering what exactly he could do for it out here in the field. It'd be better to just splint it down and wait to wrap it back in the infirmary, where he could make sure it was properly treated.

Robin turned to him. "Seth, do you know if—" The rest of her question was lost when she started coughing. Seth grabbed her shoulders, holding her steady until she stopped. He noticed that her breathing was ragged, probably from having breathed in all the dust from the building collapse.

"Here, she'll need this," Grey said. He leaned over and handed him an oxygen mask. "They breathed in too much of the dust."

"Thanks," Seth said, cursing himself for not thinking of it earlier. When he reached over to hook the mask behind Robin's head, she pushed it away.

"No, Seth, I don't need that," she said, shaking her head. She glanced over his shoulder at the wreckage that used to be the Cultural Center. "Are there others down there?"

He kissed the corner of her mouth. "Come on, Robin, you need to take care of yourself first." He handed her the mask. "Here, hold it to your mouth. You can pull it away if you feel panicked, but try to breathe through it. You'll feel better faster."

"They need my help," she said, pushing his hand away. She started to slide off the back of the truck, but Seth caught her, pinning her down to the truck bed with his hands on her legs.

"No," he growled softly. "You're not going back over there, Robin."

"But, Seth," she started, and he picked her up and put her forcefully back into the truck bed.

"I'm not going through this with you," he said, his face stony. It softened as he took her hand and rubbed his thumb across the back of it. "Please, don't try it."

He watched her look back toward the Cultural Center then turned her eyes back to him. "All right, if that's what you want."

"That's all I want." If he knew that if she was safe, he would be fine, no matter what.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Y'ALL ARE AWESSSSSOMMMEEE! :)

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 23

Sidda didn't remember much from the afternoon besides occasionally waking up and seeing Alec nearby, his worried face amid other faces that were usually half-covered by surgical masks. Most of the time they had her drugged up or completely knocked out. She had been awake earlier, and Alec had explained that she had been through surgery to remove the stake from her leg and stitch up the arteries that had been severed. She had lost a lot of blood when they removed the stake, but she was stable. They just wanted to keep her at the infirmary for at least the night so they could watch her and the baby.

Alec was sleeping next to her in the hospital bed; he had crashed a few hours ago, completely exhausted thanks to letting the doctors borrow his blood for Sidda's operation. He had been reluctant to sleep in the hospital bed with her since he was afraid of hurting her or messing up the couple monitors that she let Sibil keep on her, but after she had asked him to multiple times, he had joined her, extremely careful not to jostle her heavily-wrapped leg. He had fallen asleep quickly, holding her against his chest.

Another pain jolted through her abdomen, and she grimaced. She had woken up about an half an hour ago with this sharp pain in her stomach, but when she glanced at the fetal heart monitor, it looked like nothing had changed with Bean. The only thing she could think it could be was some kind of fake labor, like what she had read about in the book Robin had lent her. It was plausible, unlike the idea that she could have gone into actual labor when she was only eight months along. There was another month to go.

She glanced over her shoulder at Alec. Still asleep. The last time he had woke up was when that X6 medic had come in to give her some medication. Alec had snapped at the poor kid, telling him to get out before he threw him out, but the X6 had apologetically said that he had come to give Sidda something that was supposed to make her sleep and relax. He had injected whatever it was into her IV, apologized again and left before Alec could yell at him anymore. Both she and Alec had fallen back asleep quickly, but her sleep had only lasted about fifteen minutes.

"Oh!" she gasped as another pain hit her, and immediately she looked at Alec, feeling sheepish about having made any sounds. She didn't want to wake him up and have him stress out; he'd had such a long, hard day. He didn't need for his sleep to be interrupted.

"Mmm, you ok?" Alec blinked eyes that were adorably sleepy and heavy-lidded at her. "Does your leg hurt?" Darn it all, he had woken up. If only he wasn't such a light sleeper.

"No," she could say with all honesty. "The leg's not so bad." She lay back in the bed and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. Hopefully fake labor didn't last long, because it sort of sucked.

"Well, something's wrong." Alec rose up a bit and leaned on one of his elbows so that he could look down at her face. His eyes were serious, flicking all over her face as if he'd find some sign there that would let him know exactly what was up.

Sidda sighed. "It's some sort of fake labor thing. I remember reading about it in Robin's books. Annoying, but it doesn't really hurt anything."

Alec's eyebrows practically rose to the top of his head. "Fake labor?"

"If you had read Robin's books, you would know," Sidda retorted. She reached over and squeezed Alec's hand. "Don't worry, it can't possibly be the baby. If trauma was going to cause me to have him, I'm pretty sure I would have gone into labor several hours ago, not now."

"I guess you're right," Alec said doubtfully. He sat all the way up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Still, probably best we check, just to be on the safe side."

"You're so paranoid," Sidda muttered. She pulled at his hand as he stood up, trying to convince him to just come back into bed. But then she involuntarily released him as another pain shot through her. "Ugh, this sucks!" she ground out between clenched teeth. It wasn't fair that she had to go through labor pains when she was supposed to have a C-section.

"Sidda!" Alec was leaning over her when she opened her eyes again.

"Fine, fine, call them," Sidda panted as the tension in her stomach released a bit. "Maybe they'll have some sort of drug that will keep me from feeling this. Getting shot might actually be better than labor." She was trying to joke, but Alec wasn't really having any of it.

Alec went over and pressed the button that was near Sidda's bed, then he sat down on the edge of the bed and took one of her hands in his. "Well, based on what I've heard about labor pains, whether they're fake or not, women like to crush their guys' hands. So crush away."

Sidda laughed. "You're ridiculous. But thanks." Though she and Alec bickered a lot, and usually spoke to each other mostly through jokes and sarcasm, there were times when Alec really couldn't hide how caring he was. He would never admit that he had a side that wasn't bad ass, but after he'd traveled across the country to find her, Sidda knew it was definitely there. And whenever she was unsure about it, Alec would do little random thoughtful things like offering to let her crush his hand.

He was such a perfect mate for her.

"Is something wrong?"

Sidda looked up at the familiar voice. "Seth." She blinked. "You're not at home?"

Seth chuckled and moved into the room, then started speaking as he checked all her vital signs on the monitors. "I needed to be here, helping. Robin insisted. She also insisted I update her about you whenever possible, so I figured that you pressing the call-button was a good enough excuse to check in on you." He turned around and looked at Sidda. "Your heart rate keeps jumping."

"Umm…"

"She says she's having fake labor," Alec said, getting to the point as usual.

Sidda gripped Alec's hand tightly as a contraction went through her again. This was definitely hurt more, and it was longer.

When it was done, she realized Seth was lightly resting a hand on her abdomen. He started firing questions at her. "How was that contraction compared to the others? Sooner? Longer? Stronger?"

"D, all of the above," Sidda said, giving him a weak smile as she collapsed against the bed again.

Seth glanced at Alec, and then at Sidda.

"What?" Alec and Sidda both demanded. This time it was Alec's hand that was doing the crushing.

"I'll be back… I have to go get someone who knows more about labor than I do. But I think you might actually be going into labor. Real labor." He hurried off before they could ask him any questions or demand explanations, but Sidda still heard him mutter something about it being too early.

"Alec…" Her voice seemed small and quiet, even to herself.

"That doesn't make sense," Alec said, his brow furrowing as he tried to figure it out. "You were right earlier… trauma shouldn't be causing this. And there was no reason for Bean to come early; they said everything seemed to be on schedule." He was desperately trying to reason out why Seth had to be wrong.

"I guess things never really do work out the way you expect them to," she said. She looked up at the ceiling. What would happen now? Would she actually have to give birth? That wouldn't be so bad, but it was probably going to be hell on her leg. Had something gone wrong inside of her? She idly wondered if this was how she was going to die. What a way for a genetically-engineered soldier to go. It didn't really matter, as long as Bean was ok and Alec kept going.

"Alec," she said, turning her head to look at him, "I need you to promise me something."

Alec's face hardened. "There's no need for that," he said harshly. "You're not dying. I can promise you whatever you want when this is over.

"But just in case," she insisted, pulling on his hand, "Please, listen, Alec. I'll feel better if you do."

He stared at her for a moment, and then his shoulders drooped. "Fine."

"You have to promise to take care of Bean," she said. "No matter what." She jabbed her finger at him with her free hand. "You and you only are allowed to be his parent if something happens. No shrugging the responsibility off on someone else, like Robin."

"First of all, nothing's going to happen, like I said," Alec said angrily. And then he smiled a bit. "Secondly, you don't have to worry about that. I wouldn't let anyone else take care of our kid." He glanced down at her stomach. "As troublesome as he is."

"You won't resent him if something happens?" Sidda asked anxiously. She had to know, had to make sure.

Before he could answer, another pain ripped through her. She fixed her gaze on Alec though and tightened her lips, showing him that she was determined to hear his answer.

He smoothed away her bangs from her forehead. "I won't. I promise." At this point he'd say anything to make her feel better, but he also meant it. He would love Bean because Bean was half Sidda's and half his, and Bean was important to Sidda. Sidda would never have to worry about their kid wanting any love.

"But, hey, can Robin still cook for it?" he asked teasingly. "It might be better for the kid than whatever I might try to make."

Before Sidda could answer, Sibil, Jex, and a technician entered the room. Sibil immediately started talking, effectively stopping Alec and Sidda's conversation.

"You're having contractions?" she asked, even as she started reading the monitors. She nodded at the technician, who started strapping equipment onto Sidda.

"Hey!" Sidda protested.

"It's necessary to make sure we know what's going on," Sibil said. "If you're going into labor, we'll need to move quickly to get the C-section done." She frowned down at some notes she had, then looked up. "Biggest test of course will be to see whether you've dilated any or not."

Sibil made room for Jex to start checking Sidda, and Sibil glanced at Alec. "You ready for this, Alec?"

"Do I have to answer that?" he said, moving farther up the bed while the team started working on his mate.

"It's okay, sugar-pumpkin," Sidda told him, giving a strained smile, "You were never really going to be ready anyway."

"You make the worst jokes when you're in pain," Alec said, toying with her hair and trying to keep her calm, "I think I'll just judge how bad you feel by how terrible your jokes are."

"So, when I start making knock-knock jokes you'll get the defibrillator panels?" she teased half-heartedly.

Alec's face tightened and so did his grip on her hand. "Not a good joke."

She frowned up at Jex as he reached through the collar of her hospital gown and pressed a stethoscope to her chest. "Isn't there a monitor for that sort of thing?" she asked. Besides, he could probably tell even better now that her breathing was speeding up; she wasn't fond of this much attention from medical people. She noticed Alec glare at the man, and she rolled her eyes.

Jex smiled down at her. "Better to trust a person, right?"

"Sure…" Sidda said. She saw him flick his eyes at Sibil, and the co-commander closed her notepad, her lips pressed tight.

The technician, a female X5, was hooking Sidda up to more machines than Alec was comfortable with while Sibil walked to the end of the bed and pulled up a stool. "Sidda, I'm going to check to see if you're dilated. If you're not, then we'll just give you something for the pain and get you back to sleep. If you are, then things will start moving pretty fast."

"Okay," Sidda said, not sounding very sure of herself at all. She gripped Alec's hand tightly and looked up at him with a forced smile. She didn't want him freaking out right now. "Whichever will be fine, but it's probably all right, right, Sibil?"

"I don't understand, actually," Sibil said, "You shouldn't be experiencing labor pains right now, but we'll just check…"

Sidda leaned back against the bed and tried not to pay attention to what the medics were doing. Alec helped by rubbing the back of his hand against her cheek. "Hey, it's going to be fine," he insisted, "I'm right here."

"Thanks," she said, giving him a smile, "Your presence is so very reassuring." Her sarcasm was all teasing; the statement was actually quite truthful.

"I'm going to say that you actually meant that," Alec said, smiling down at her.

"Seems like someone's impatient," Sibil said, interrupting Sidda as she was about to say something back to Alec. "You're three centimeters dilated, Sidda. The baby's coming."

"What?" both Sidda and Alec declared as one. Sidda pushed herself up onto her elbows, ignoring the pain that shot through her leg as she accidentally jerked it.

"That can't be right, it's not time," Sidda said, "Isn't there something you can do?"

Sibil had already moved toward the machines, looking at them again with an intense expression on her face. "Sorry, Sidda, once you're dilated, there's nothing to stop labor."

"Fine, fine, but is the baby going to be okay?" she demanded, her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. Sibil was reminded of the fact that Sidda was very much an alpha female; the instinct to go find somewhere safe and quiet to deliver her baby was at war with the rational side that told her to stay in the hospital since it was safest place even though it wasn't very quiet.

"We're going to do everything we can to take care of both of you." Sibil looked over at Jex. "Call Grey and tell him we're bringing Sidda up. Now."

"No need," Seth said as he stepped through the doorway, "I already let him know. They're prepping the O.R. now." He looked over at Sidda, his eyes questioning. "How long ago did this start?"

"I don't know, an hour ago?" she said.

"That long?" Alec asked, his expression disapproving.

"Yeah…" Things were starting to slow down in her vision now, but she beat her body's attempt to faint back down. "It was about fifteen minutes after that medic came in."

Sibil jerked her head toward Sidda. "What medic?"

"I don't know, I've never seen him before," she said, "He was an X6."

"Did he give you anything?" Seth asked, walking toward the IV bag that was hanging from the pole by her bed.

"It was something that was supposed to make her sleep," Alec said, his face hard as he looked over at his best friend. "What are you thinking?"

Eyes blazing, Seth unhooked the IV bag and put it down on a nearby table while he exchanged it for another one. "We'll handle it later." He glanced down at Sidda, who was leaning her head to the side as another contraction hit. This was possibly the worst moment for her labor to begin. Whatever that little bastard medic had given Sidda was messing with her heart rate, which was already irregular thanks to the wound in her leg.

Every time she had a contraction, her heart rate spiked then dropped, often taking her blood pressure with it. Sidda had already been in surgery once today and would weak going back in. He looked at Sibil, knowing similar thoughts were going through her head. It would probably be better for Sidda if they waited until her body was more stable, but that could put the baby at risk, and Sidda would never go for that. Seth caught Alec staring at them, but he averted his eyes. If Seth had any say in the matter, Sidda was going to be fine after this.

"All right, let's not stand around," Sibil said, getting back to business, "The O.R. team will be waiting for us, and it's best not to let them stay idle for long. They start playing with the instruments, it's a bad situation."

Sidda glanced at Sibil, her eyebrows half-raised. "Was that a joke?"

Sibil forced a smile down at Sidda. "If that's what you'd like it to be." While the rest of the team hurriedly unlocked the wheels of the bed, she moved up the bed to Sidda's side. Leaning over, she pulled the blanket up to Sidda's midsection and started unhooking wires and tubes, besides the portable heart rate monitor. Everything would be hooked up again in the O.R.

She was stopped by Alec's hand landing on her wrist. "I'm going with her," he said, his voice more of a growl than anything else.

Sibil nodded and gently pried his fingers off. "Of course. No one's separating you from her."

Sidda tried to help by reaching over and taking the hand that Alec had grabbed Sibil with. "Hey, come on, play nice."

* * *

Alec didn't want to play nice…this whole situation, this equipment, this room… it was all giving him bad vibes. If the other room had been bad, the O.R. was worse. All the surgical instruments were out and ready, the drugs to put Sidda under was being prepared. It was all he could do to control his anger when he saw Sidda blanch with fear.

"It'll be ok," he reassured her, stroking her hand.

Sidda looked up at him, not saying anything, eyes wide. When they were like that her eyes seemed to take up most of her face…it made her look so much more innocent and vulnerable. It made him want to protect her that much more.

The doctors worked efficiently, and if it wasn't such an emergency in Alec's eye, he would've been annoyed at how emotionless they seemed. But he didn't have time for that right now.

"Alec…I know I'll be asleep, but…"

"I'll stay," Alec interrupted her, "And I'll hold your hand the whole time. I promise."

Sidda breathed a sigh and smiled at him. Trust Alec to know what she needed before she even had to articulate it in front of all these other people. "I'm scared," she whispered, finally admitting her fear. She didn't want to go to sleep and never wake up, never see Bean, never see Alec again.

"Everything will go fine," Alec promised. He kissed her. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"Thanks. I'm counting on you for that," she said, smiling up at him. She gasped and clutched his hand harder as a thick IV needle jabbed into her arm.

"Warning?" both she and Alec shot at the poor technician. Grey looked up and chuckled.

"Sorry Sidda, but you have a history of not dealing well with needles. This was the easiest and quickest way, trust me."

"I'm glad to see you feel so bad about that," Sidda mumbled. She stared up at Alec as she spoke, memorizing every bit of his face, as if she didn't already know it. She knew from past experiences that it would take her a little while to fall asleep, but when it hit…she wouldn't even realize she was fading, not really.

They stayed like that for a few moments, simply looking at each other. Sidda smiled as Alec gently stroked her hand every now and then. She could deal with this when he was with her. There were worse ways she could die.

"Sidda." Alec was rushing his words, speaking as if he didn't have much time and he wanted to make sure she heard everything she had to say. "Sidda…after all of this, when Bean's born and everything's ok again, will you marry me?"

Sidda stared at him for a moment, trying to comprehend what he'd said. She must have misheard… wow, so the sleep-drugs really did affect her mental functions.

"Ummm…."

Seth tried to interrupt. "Alec… maybe this isn't the best time…"

Alec glared at Seth than turned back to Sidda, ignoring Seth's advice.

"I know this isn't exactly the most romantic place to ask you," Alec said. "But…well, I can always ask again afterwards. I just want…I needed to know… do you want to marry me?" He suddenly looked very unsure of himself. The worried frown and hesitant eyes made him look almost like an adorable puppy.

Sidda shook her head, trying to clear the fogginess. Well, why not? It would make Alec happy, and she was probably going to die anyways. She knew the risks. "Yes?" she ventured. Hopefully that was the answer he wanted.

"You're sure?" he asked, still hesitant.

"Of course she's not, she's barely lucid," Seth muttered.

Really, what did Alec want? She'd said yes. Whatever, proposals didn't matter right now, it was feelings that counted. "Yeah, yeah, I am…I love you, Alec."

"I love you too," he whispered, "So you better wake up from this and marry me." He leaned down and gave her a long kiss, and when he moved back, her eyes were closed. "Sidda?" he asked worriedly. He looked around but Seth was there, a hand on his shoulder.

"She's fine, she was supposed to go out right about now," Seth said. He shook his head at his friend. 'I can't believe you just proposed to her."

"I had to do it," Alec said, his voice almost monotone. Seth wouldn't really understand, but Alec had had to know. Had to know that she'd be utterly convinced that she had a reason to wake up again. She couldn't doubt that he loved her or his commitment to her when she knew he wanted her to marry him. And he did, he really did. He wanted that official seal of belonging; he wanted them to belong to each other and each other only. The idea fit perfectly with his world of Alpha senses.

"So what's next?" Alec asked. Knowing what was going on would help him remain calm, or so he hoped.

"Well," Seth said, surveying the room first to make sure that everything was getting done that needed to be. "We'll actually administer the anesthesia and give her a tube to make sure she can breathe. Then Grey will begin the operation."

"How long will all this take?" Alec asked.

"Probably about forty-five minutes to an hour, if everything goes as planned." He gave Alec a sympathetic look; he hadn't had to go through this anxiety with Robin yet. "The baby will actually be born fairly quickly though. The longest part is when they sew Sidda up after the baby is born."

Alec cleared his throat. "I might not watch that part," he said. Actually, he was unsure he'd be able to watch the first part either. He wasn't sure he could handle someone cutting into his mate.

"Understood," Seth said. He moved away to talk to one of the doctors, and Alec watched as they quickly moved to prepare Sidda for the surgery. He sure hoped Bean was worth all this fuss. Well, he knew the kid would be… as long as everything turned out fine in the end.

If it didn't…well, Alec refused to think about it.

As they set up the surgical instruments, Alec deliberately turned his body so that he was looking at Sidda's face. He would see her peacefully sleeping during the surgery, and everything would be ok.

* * *

Seth was right; it didn't take them long to deliver the baby at all. He was starting to settle down when he heard one of the doctors say, "Ok, let's deliver the baby now."

Alec turned, carefully keeping his gaze above Sidda's stomach. He didn't want to see some hole there; he didn't know how he would react. But he did see the baby emerge, wet and dripping, and he watched in fascination as they cut his cord and cleared the gunk out his mouth.

A him, the baby was a him. Sidda had been right. Alec almost smiled; the poor kid was probably going to be stuck with the name Bean now that he'd actually been born a boy. Of course, that name might have stuck anyway if the baby was a girl.

Because the baby was tiny, that was for sure. Despite its size though, the baby had a giant set of lungs. As soon as it was able, it started squalling.

"Dang, Aiden." They had picked out that name just last night, actually. After Alec had conceded that it could quite possibly be a boy.

Alec couldn't help but grin as Aiden wailed. That was his son there. His and Sidda's. And he was fine… he was moving, screaming, everything a baby was supposed to do.

Alec looked at Sidda again. "See? Everything's going to be fine. Told you."

He glanced up again to watch a couple nurses carry Aiden over to a table in the corner to get him cleaned up, or that's what Seth had said earlier. He turned back to Sidda and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. "He's wrinkly and…pink. Sort of prunish, really. You'd be disturbed. But of course he's a boy, just like you said." He didn't care that he was talking to her while she was unconscious; maybe some small part of her would realize that he was still there, still with her, and he wasn't leaving her side.

"Hey, Alec, congrats," Seth said. He was wearing a surgical mask like everyone else, but Alec could tell that he was grinning beneath it. "He looks good, he should be fine. You could hold him in a few minutes, if you'd like."

"Yeah," Alec said, "Thanks, Seth." If Sidda had been awake and capable of fighting with him about it, he might have teased her about holding the baby first…which, knowing Sidda, she would have retorted that she had been carrying him this whole time so she had Alec beat from the beginning.

He turned back to her when one of the beeping machines started to sound different. It was slowing down, like someone was slowly unplugging it from the wall. A few seconds later, another machine started a morbid harmony with the first one, but its beat was fast and staccato.

Alec jerked his head up to see the doctors' movements over Sidda becoming more rapid, more urgent. What the hell was going on?

"Shit, where is that blood coming from?" Grey demanded.

"She's hemorrhaging," someone else declared in a high female voice that Alec didn't recognize.

"Isn't that obvious?" Sibil said, her voice a quiet snarl, "Find it."

"Heart rate's dropping," Seth said over the baby's crying. He was calm but insistent. "BP too." For a moment, he flicked his gaze toward Alec, and Alec despised the fear and anger he saw there. He tore his eyes away from what was going on at the other end of the table and looked at Sidda, wishing the tubes weren't there, wishing none of this was happening.

"Come on, Sidda," Alec said, roughly squeezing the hand that was limp in his. The smell of her blood was going to make him sick. "Come on…be stubborn for me."

"Where the hell is this coming from?" Grey asked, "Sibil…"

"I'm looking," she hissed back at him, "Start a transfusion line."

A shrill, endless note suddenly rang in Alec's ears. He stopped breathing as he looked over at the screens and saw that Sidda's vitals monitor was showing a series of flat line. The wail of the heart monitor matched the baby's crying, a life for a life. Aiden was alive.

Sidda was dead.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thanks for all the awesome reviews! Here's the next chapter, hope everyone enjoys it more than the last one, lol.

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 24

"She's crashing!" Seth snapped, and the action in the O.R. picked up, becoming frenzied while Alec just stared, unable to move.

"Get 10 CCs of epinephrine into her and grab the panels. Charge to 200," Grey ordered. A technician blurred and pulled a machine away from the wall, a defibrillator, just like the one Sidda had been joking about a little while ago. The machine hummed as the panels were pulled away from it and charged to the level of electricity Grey had requested. Someone pulled the sheet away from Sidda's chest, exposing her naked body. Alec wanted to throw whoever it was into a wall for even touching her right now, but his rational side won out, keeping him in his seat. The panels had to touch bare skin…

Grey snatched the panels from the technician and stepped up beside Sidda. "Clear!" he shouted, and everyone stepped back from the table. Alec stood up when someone yanked his hand out of the Sidda's a moment before Grey put the paddles to her small, fragile-looking body, one to her chest and one to her side. She jolted into the air, and when she fell to the table again, they swarmed around her.

"Still flatlining here," the technician said.

"Charge to 300," Grey said, "She's not going to do this, not to me. I've seen enough deaths today, and hers isn't going to finish off the list." When the panels were charged, he leaned in again. "Clear!" Again, Sidda's back arched as electricity leapt through her.

"What's going on?" Alec finally barked, not taking his eyes off of Sidda.

"Sir, if you don't—" one the nurses started, but Seth appeared, glaring at the nurse. With two Alphas scowling at her, she was forced to hurry off and make herself busy elsewhere.

"Seth," Alec growled his name, demanding answers.

"She's coding," Seth explained rapidly, pulling Alec away from the table.

"I got that." Alec jerked away from him, back towards Sidda, but Seth held fast.

"Her heart's stopped, and we're trying to get her back. You have to stay out of the way." He tightened his grip on Alec's arm for a moment before hurrying back to the table where Grey was charging the panels again.

Alec leaned against the wall and flexed his empty fingers into a fist. He turned to look from Sidda to the crying baby who was still being tended to by nurses. His son was not going to grow up without his mother. He looked back toward Sidda just as her body arched for a third time, the machines screaming around her. Alec wasn't going to live without her, he couldn't do that. It wouldn't be living.

Shoving past a few nurses and doctors, he grabbed Sidda's hand and squeezed it until she would have cried out if she had been awake…alive. A careless twitch, and he would have broken bones. "Sidda, I swear to God, if you don't come back..." He leaned in close, putting his other hand on the side of her face. "I'm ordering you to come back, and don't you fucking dare argue with me this time!"

"Alec, let go," Seth said, stepping towards Alec, "Grey needs to try again."

Alec didn't want to let go, but he knew he had to. Still, Seth had to pull him away, because Alec just couldn't let go of Sidda. It felt like letting go was letting go of her. Giving up on her. And he didn't want her to think for a moment that he had. Unless that would make her more stubborn and determined to fight him of course.

"Clear." Alec didn't want to watch them try to bring Sidda's body back to life. He turned and looked at Seth, then looked away. He didn't want to face that pity.

"Alec, look." Seth's voice was urgent, but it was only with reluctance that he obeyed. And then he saw the monitors. They… they weren't flat anymore. There was movement, shape, change.

"Seth…is she?" Alec was afraid to hope now. He was afraid to jinx it or something. If he thought she was back, maybe she would flatline again. All around him, doctors and technicians were rushing, hooking up equipment, saying things about needing to stabilize her. God, they thought she could go again at any moment…

"She's back," Seth said, relaxing his hold on Alec as the tension drained from him. Technically they weren't in the clear yet, but if she'd been determined enough to come back once… well, she would probably be ok. "I need to go help," he told Alec, before moving away. They needed to stabilize Sidda as quickly as possible, and now that Sidda's heart was beating again, Seth wasn't afraid that Alec would go on a destructive rampage or decide to get himself electrocuted so that he could join Sidda.

As soon as Seth had released him, Alec went back over to Sidda. He stayed behind her head, pretty much out of the doctors' way. But he pulled up a chair there, leaned his head against the bed, and put his hands on both her arms. When she woke up, she would know that he was there.

* * *

"Alec, do you want to see Be—Aiden?" Seth was looking at him with some concern. It was quieter now that they had switched rooms. Seth and another technician were the only ones in there besides Alec and Sidda, and they were all being fairly quiet. The beeping of the heart monitor dominated the room. At the moment, they were waiting to Sidda to come out of her drug-induced sleep after about a half-hour of being stitched up.

"Not right now," Alec said. He looked away from Seth. "Sidda will want to be the first one to hold him."

Seth looked doubtful. "Are you sure about that? She wouldn't want you to resent the kid, Alec. Nothing happened to her in the end." Sensing a rather personal conversation at hand, the technician quietly slipped out.

"She died, Seth," Alec said, more harshly than he intended. "I definitely count that as something." He looked down at her face, peaceful and pale but not deathly white anymore. "But I won't resent Bean; I know she wouldn't like it." He smiled a bit and looked at Seth again. "Sidda would start fussing at me like an old woman if she thought I did."

"Not…old." came a groggy, slurred voice from the direction of Sidda's mouth.

"Sidda…" Alec's attention was immediately on Sidda, and he curved his body around her as he bent over her, protecting her from the outside world. Seth rolled his eyes and smiled, quietly going over to the furthest area of the room to check on some of the meds they'd prepped for Sidda.

Alec had insisted that Sidda's meds were double-checked now before they gave her anything. They'd found out that the technician who'd given her a drug to help her relax had given her one that was high-risk for pregnant women and had a history of inducing labor. Well, that drug had obviously proven true to its warning label.

Needless to say, that technician was hiding far, far away from Alec right now.

"Why are you calling me old?" Sidda said groggily. Her vision was still slightly blurry, and it seemed to take forever for her thoughts to connect to what she wanted to do. Was this what it was like to be a normal human? "And where's Bean?"

"He's in another room right now, being kept warm in this incubator-thing," Alec said, not caring to explain the whole answer to the other question yet. He was counting on her drugged state to help with that. "You were right, he was a boy."

"Of course I was right," she muttered. "Told you so a long time ago."

She was slightly surprised, through gratified, when Alec kissed her deeply. Transgenics would go a long time without breathing, which resulted in a very nice kiss. Poor Max; she would never know how awesome kissing another transgenic could be.

"Hey, it's not like I died," she said, laughing a little when Alec broke away. Maybe it had just been really stressful for Alec to watch her get cut into. Or he'd been worried the whole time that she wouldn't wake up from being put under. Silly man.

Alec's face darkened at her comment, and Sidda stared at him. "What, what did I say?" she said. Were the drugs still affecting her brain that much that she was having trouble reading her mate?

"Nothing," Alec mumbled, but his tone clearly indicated that it wasn't nothing.

Seth came in to stick something into Sidda's IV and rolled his eyes as Alec tensed up. "It's fine," he said. "I checked." He nodded at Sidda. "Forgive Alec's manners. For him, you did sort of die."

Sidda frowned at Alec and moved to sit up; he quickly moved to help her, propping up the pillows some. "You see me asleep all the time," she muttered as she adjusted herself.

"It wasn't like that," Alec said quietly, looking away.

Sidda glanced suspiciously from Seth to Alec. "Ok, boys, so what exactly happened during the surgery?" she demanded. She didn't like all these hints and half-answers.

Alec shifted uncomfortably.

"Bean is ok, right?" she asked worriedly. Were they trying to hide something about her son from her? Alec had said he was fine…

"No, no, Bean, or, well, Aiden's fine—"

"You named him?" You didn't wait for me to wake up?" Sidda crossed her arms and frowned at Alec.

"Hey," he said, affronted. He didn't like being accused of not considering Sidda, not right now. "You told me last night that you wanted that name if it was boy."

"Well, I suppose I did," she admitted, a half-smile creeping onto her face. She was feeling clearer and clearer by the second; in comparison to those baby books of Robin's, Sidda was recovering from the anesthesia fast, or so it seemed like. Made sense, considering her transgenic blood. It took a lot of anesthesia to even put a transgenic out for any length of time.

"So what did go wrong then?" she asked, not forgetting her earlier question. "I can tell you guys are trying to hide something from me." She gave Seth a very pointed, accusing look to let him know that he wasn't going to escape having some of the blame as well.

Alec shifted again and Seth sighed. "Well, you were going to hear about it at some point." He shrugged. "Your heart stopped for a minute after Bean was born."

"You were dead," Alec said, his voice a curiously flat monotone.

"Oh." Sidda wasn't sure what to think about that. She'd actually died? Shouldn't she feel different or something?

"Do you want to see Bean?" Seth asked quickly, glancing between the two of them. He was hoping to forestall any angry, upset conversation about Sidda's "death".

"Can I?" Sidda asked, letting the subject drop for the moment. It had obviously stressed Alec out, even if she couldn't remember any of it. Besides, she really wanted to see her son. She bit her bottom lip. "Is he really okay?"

Seth grinned at the uncertain look on Sidda's face. "He's perfect. Really perfect for a preemie, actually." Bean had been small, but he had been really well-developed for being a month early; no one could quite decide if it was the transgenic blood or something to do with his parents. Seth nodded. "If you're feeling up to it, I can go get him."

"Please, could you, Seth?" Sidda said, jumping at the chance, the grogginess being quickly exchanged for a tired eagerness. "That'd be great."

"Sure, be back in a moment," he said. He tossed Alec a look that clearly said 'behave' before leaving silently out the door.

When he was gone, Sidda turned her head to look at Alec. He was staring at her, and he reached up to rest his hand on the side of her face. She could feel his pulse beating through his skin, an elevated, leftover fear from what had happened before. She sighed and smiled up at him. "Sorry, Alec."

His eyebrows rose. "Sorry? For what?" he said in a half-laugh, "It's my fault you were even pregnant. If I hadn't…"

"If you hadn't what?" Sidda asked. She started to pull herself further into a sitting position, but her head swam and there was a far-off, distant pain in her abdomen and her leg. Oh, yeah, injuries…Whatever Seth had put in her IV was probably something of a mixture of wake-me-up and pain suppressant. Good man.

Sidda took Alec's hand in hers and squeezed it. "Alec, if you regret sleeping with me during my heat, I certainly don't regret it. If it hadn't been you, then it would've been someone else—" He grimaced and his grip tightened on her hand. She rolled her eyes. "Someone that I cared nothing for at all, completely. Anyways, I probably would've gotten pregnant with some other guy's kid—"

"Sidda, do we have to have this conversation right now?" he asked, his voice low and strained.

Sidda pulled his hand over and kissed it. "Yeah, because you wanted to know what I'm sorry for. And it's none of that."

"Then what is it?" he asked, looking at her like he was afraid she was going to disappear.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," she said. Maybe it was the drugs that made her talk so truthfully or the idea that she had died and freaked him out so much. "It seems like that's been my job lately, worrying you, and I just want you to know that I'm sor—"

Again he cut her off, but this time it was with a kiss. "Be quiet, Sidda," he ordered as he pulled back, his fingers threading through her hair, "You didn't mean to do any of it, and we're not talking about it again."

"Not even to joke?" she asked, softly grinning up at him.

He flicked his fingers against her shoulder. "Definitely no joking about it, woman."

"You sure are in a demanding mood," she said, reaching over and brushing his rumpled spiky hair.

He gave an exasperated sigh and put his head down beside hers on the pillow. "You have no idea…"

Sidda grinned at him as the door opened, letting Seth back into the room. He was holding a blue bundle close to his chest, a strange expression on his face.

"I wish I could've gotten to do this with Robin," he said as he walked over to them.

"Aw, Seth, I'm certain you'll have another kid," Sidda said, but her eyes were locked on the blanket in his arms, "Robin wants a boy to round out her brood."

"Hope you're right. Here, Sidda," Seth said, lowered the bundle into Sidda's arms, "Only away from you for about an hour."

Sidda smiled down at Aiden's round, pink-skinned, beautiful, perfect face. Oh, he was precious. He had a peach-fuzz cover of blond hair that was as soft as down as she ran her fingers gently, carefully over his head. Just as drowsy as she was, he blinked up a pair of hazel eyes and stared at her curiously for a moment.

"Hey, big guy," she said, blinking away a couple of superbly pleased tears, "Rough day, huh?"

Beside the bed, Alec made a face, and Sidda frowned at him.

"What?" he asked, shrugging, "I just think your day was rougher than his, that's all."

Sidda smirked at him. "You're just jealous."

"And you're still drugged out," he said, running his hand over her arm, mindful of the IV.

"Don't you want to hold him?" Sidda asked, even though she looked reluctant to let go of Aiden. She looked up at Alec, a suspicious expression on his face. "You aren't resenting, are you?"

Alec threw his hands into the air. "Geez, is it stamped on my face or something?"

Sidda glanced at Seth questioningly, and the other X5 laughed. "I asked him earlier…"

"Oh?" Sidda asked. Her expression was one of worry as she looked back at Alec. "Alec, don't blame him…"

Alec sighed and flicked his eyes from her to the baby. He didn't blame Aiden for what happened to Sidda…or at least he didn't think he did. He didn't want to. It wasn't possibly the kid's fault. And now that he had the technician to blame and later kill, he could blame that guy instead. "I don't," he said.

To show that he didn't, he leaned over and carefully took the tiny bundle from Sidda's arms. Damn, his kid was tiny. For a terrifying moment, he thought that he was either going to drop Aiden or crush him, so he froze, eyes wide.

"Alec, are you okay?" Seth asked as he and Sidda looked at each other with concern.

"Mhmm," Alec replied. He glanced down at Aiden, thinking that at least moving his head wouldn't matter. He was going to look like him, Alec could already tell that, but…he had Sidda's eyes. The shape and color were hers, and the way he slid them from looking back at his mom to looking at Alec as if he knew exactly who he was and found him funny…Yep, all Sidda there. With the most careful movements, Alec reached down and bumped his finger against Bean's hand, realizing just how tiny those five little fingers were. Bean immediately reached out and took hold of Alec's finger, squeezing it with probably more strength than his mother had right then.

"So, what do you guys think?" Seth asked as he leaned back against the wall. As far as the monitors showed, Sidda was fine right now, or as fine as she could be for what she had been through. Her heart rate was slower than anyone really wanted it and her blood pressure was too low, but he didn't doubt that it would all straighten out in the next few days. Sibil and Grey would keep her here until they were satisfied that she was okay to go, and no one was going to help her escape, if she had a mind to.

"I think you missed out on a lot," Alec said truthfully. His eyes darkened for a moment. "This part, at least." He glanced down at Sidda. "I could have skipped the last couple of hours."

"I did," Sidda said, which made Alec grimace. Ignoring him, she looked over at Seth and smiled at him sympathetically. "I know it won't make up for it, but you'll have more kids, some day."

Seth attempted a smile back at her. "I don't know," he said, his tone teasing, "If Robin's pregnancy is as exciting as yours…"

Alec scowled up at Seth, and Sidda popped him gently on the arm. "Behave."

"I'm trying," Alec said. He rubbed his finger over Aiden's face and then turned toward Sidda. "Here, I know you're freaking out without him."

"I am not, you just want to get rid of him," Sidda replied, but she took him back all the same, resting him in the crook of her arm. She wanted to feed him, but she had a feeling that all the drugs in her system wouldn't be good for him.

Trailing her finger down her son's cheek, she yawned; it seemed that all the physical stress that she had been through tonight and the day before was catching up with her again. She blinked sleepily up at Alec.

All three raised their heads when the door opened again, this time so fast that it would have broken the wall if there wasn't a door stop. Alec jumped up from where he had been sitting on the side of the bed, his hands clenched into fists, moving immediately into a defensive position, and Seth and Sidda tensed, but they all relaxed when they realized it was Robin.

"Robin," Sidda said, smiling at her best friend. Seth took a couple steps toward his mate but nearly got ran over as she blurred forward.

"Oh my God!" Robin exclaimed, one hand over her mouth as she stopped beside Sidda's bed, "They called and said you were dead, then I got here and this one guy said you were alive and this other one kept saying he had killed you and that Alec was going to kill him, and I didn't know!" She stared down at Sidda, wide-eyed, as Seth came over and hugged her to him.

"Whoa, slow down, it's all right," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"Who said that to you?" Alec demanded, his eyes blazing.

"Not now," Seth said. He shook his head at Alec. They'd deal with that later.

Sidda smiled sleepily over at Robin. "Sorry, not dead yet."

Robin sighed and relaxed against Seth, then broke his hold to rush Sidda. "I'm so unbelievably happy that you're alive!" She pulled up another chair to sit down next to Alec.

Sidda laughed at her friend. "Me too, though I didn't even know until a little bit ago that supposedly I'm a walking miracle."

Robin leaned forward and then reached to touch the baby. She paused with her finger an inch from the baby's cheek. "Can I?" she asked anxiously.

"Of course!" Sidda beamed as Robin cooed over the baby's cuteness; she was happy that others were recognizing how absolutely perfect Bean was.

"What'd you decide to call Bean?" Robin laughed a little as she realized what a strange question that must sound like.

"His name is Aiden," Sidda said softly. Then she gave a huge yawn. "Goodness, I'm more worn out than I thought."

"That's usually what happens when you have a baby, whether you remember it or not," Seth said. He smiled as Alec gave an echoing yawn. "Or if you stay up to watch someone having a baby," he added.

"Maybe I should sleep," Sidda admitted as Seth gave her the 'raised-eyebrow-suggestive-hint' look. She glanced at Robin. "You want to hold Aiden?"

"Yes!" Robin gushed, sliding her arms under the baby with practiced ease. Alec glared at her enviously until Sidda poked him.

"You'll get plenty of time later," she reminded him quietly, half-smiling. She was relieved to see him wanting to hold the kid now.

"Want something to help you go to sleep?" Seth asked.

"They're okay for her, right?" Alec asked immediately, eyes narrowed with suspicion. He trusted Seth, but still, he couldn't help but be cautious right now…

"Will they help with the pain?" Sidda said, asking what felt like the more important question to her. After all, if they could just shock her out of death anyways, it was all good, wasn't it? "'Cause if not, I would like to get these drugs out of my system so I can eventually feed B—Aiden." She had to start calling him Aiden, poor kid.

"Yes, definitely," Seth said. "That's their main purpose. Their side effect is drowsiness."

"Oh, well, inject away," she said, nodding at the IV. She smiled as Alec yawned again. "You really should get some sleep too, you know."

"I know, but…" He was clearly agonized over the thought of leaving her. He had hunched his shoulders miserably, as if to ward off any arguments against him staying by Sidda's side.

Sidda didn't really want him to leave either. "Do you have any cots or anything?" She gave Seth her best puppy-dog face, which could be quite effective when she used her wide eyes to their full advantage. She could hear Robin snorting at the familiar ploy.

Seth gave a patient sigh. "We can dig something up, I'm sure."

"Let me kiss Aiden good night," Sidda demanded of Robin. Robin held the baby out and Sidda snuggled him up against her cheek for a moment before kissing his tiny, perfect forehead. Why had she been so set on not having a baby for forever? He was so amazing.

"I can hold him if you're tired," Alec said, shifting anxiously in his seat. It was his son; he should be able to hold Aiden whenever Sidda wasn't holding him, right?

But Robin didn't seem to get the hint. "Aww, no, it's ok." She smiled at Alec. "I'll take him back to the incubator."

"I could…erm…say goodbye too." Both Robin and Sidda laughed as Alec almost forcefully took the baby back from Robin. Seth administered the drug to Sidda and Alec finally, reluctantly gave the baby back to Robin. "I guess I'll go find that cot," he said, giving Sidda a sheepish smile. He didn't want to go to sleep until she did, but then he was definitely ready to conk out for a bit.

After Robin had left to put Aiden back and Alec was staying on the hospital bed with her, cot forgotten, Sidda curled up against her mate to enjoy the comfortable warmth she'd come to know very well over the past year.

"Thanks for staying with me," Sidda mumbled into his shoulder. "I know these beds aren't the comfiest." Not to mention that he had no idea when he'd last had a chance to even take a shower or change his clothes.

"I'm with my family," Alec said. It was an odd word, but he liked the feel of it. He liked saying that he had one. "It's all good."

Sidda chuckled and then yawned again; a moment later and her breathing steadied into a sleep pattern. Alec stroked her hair. "We'll be back in the comfy bed in a few days," he promised.

* * *

Well, it was a bit more than a few days, but after five days Sidda was finally released from the infirmary, one of the last of those wounded at the Cultural Center to be released. Between her massive leg wound and then her stomach wound, her body had had a bit more healing to do. Also, after her brush with death, the doctors had wanted to make sure she was definitely stable before releasing her.

"I am so ready to be home," Sidda said as she sagged into the passenger seat with relief. She didn't care if she would have to hobble up the stairs to her apartment (though she doubted that Alec would let her do that); she just wanted to be in her own living room and her own bed and have her baby in her own place. Well, his place. Him and that ridiculous green baby room that Robin had gotten half-finished. Sidda supposed that finishing the room would be another project that she and Alec would need to work on some weekend soon.

"I'm ready to have you home," Alec said. He'd gone home a few times during the past five days, but only when ordered to, and only for short periods of time. He hadn't liked being far from Sidda or the baby; because even the baby the doctors had insisted on watching over carefully since Aiden was a preemie.

Alec quickly carried all their stuff that had piled up at the hospital into their apartment, then came back down for Sidda just as she had finished getting herself and Aiden out of the car. It made her feel very slow.

"I blurred," he said as if reading her mind. Which wasn't hard since she gave him quite an exasperated look for showing up again quickly.

"Alec, don't!" Sidda protested half-heartedly as he swept her up into his arms and started up the stairs. Sidda clutched Aiden close to her. "This is ridiculous," she mumbled, burying her face against his chest. "I hope the neighbors don't see..."

"I doubt they would care," Alec said confidently. They reached the apartment, and Alec overdramatically kicked the door open.

"Hey, Alec, was that—"

"Surprise!" Sidda paused and blinked as a light switch was flicked on to reveal Robin and Seth behind a table laid out with food, Robin typically looking more excited over the whole party-aspect of the affair than Seth. He couldn't hide his amusement though.

"Alec wouldn't let me invite more people, so I hope this is satisfying as a welcome home party," Robin grumbled. She had been very unhappy at her ruined plans for a baby shower.

"Thank you," Sidda whispered fervently in Alec's ear as he finally put her down. He kissed her cheek.

"You owe me one," he said, grinning.

"Hey, don't push it." But she smiled up at him. Small homecoming party- that she could handle. That was nice.

The door opened again, and this time Krit and Syl burst in, Syl carrying a brown paper bag with the top of a glass bottle poking out while Krit held the door open for her.

"Heard there was a party," Syl exclaimed, grinning at everyone.

"And Syl wouldn't listen to me when I said we shouldn't crash it," Krit said, giving everyone an apologetic look.

"It's okay," Robin said, smiling brightly with the arrival of more people, "We have lots of food."

Syl sauntered over to the table and picked up a little sandwich thing that Robin had made. "Oh, and we brought presents!" She gently shook the little bottle in her hand and winked at Sidda.

"Alcohol?" Sidda asked, grinning over at her friend. She hadn't had a sip since the day she had found out she was pregnant with Bean.

"No alcohol," Seth said, pinning Sidda with a frown even as he took the bottle from Syl, "Not for a few more weeks."

Sidda rolled her eyes at him. "Fiiine."

Alec sat down on the couch beside her. "News travels fast." He smirked at Sidda. "Sorry."

Syl gave a squeal and rushed over to the couch, jumping up and settling down beside Sidda. "Oh, is that Bean?"

"Syl, you saw him two days ago, remember?" Krit said as he shook his head. "We visited in the hospital…"

Syl waved him off. "Let me be excited for them!" She leaned over and grinned down at the tiny addition to Sidda and Alec's family. "He's so cute, Sidda, good job."

"Hey, I helped," Alec said defensively.

Syl raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? You contribute 50% of his DNA, and that's helping?"

"Syl—"

"All right, hey, I have a surprise!" Robin exclaimed, interrupting before it turned into a dirty fight between Syl and Alec.

"What, you're pregnant?" Sidda said, turning an awful, playful grin on Robin.

Robin shook her head, a blush coloring her cheeks. "No, Sidda. It's a surprise for Bean. And you and Alec, I guess."

"All right," Sidda said, her eyebrow lifting suspiciously. She looked toward Alec for an explanation, but he just shrugged.

"Don't ask me," he said, "She hasn't told me anything."

"Come on, you'll like it," Robin said. She grinned mischievously at Sidda.

Sidda handed Bean to Alec and then stood up, her hand resting on the arm of the couch. Her leg was still giving her problems, but she could at least hobble on it now. They had wanted to give her crutches at the hospital, but she had insisted they go to someone who needed them. Which there was no one…

Robin led them to the back room that was beside their own bed room and then opened the door. "Hope you like it."

The baby room had been completed. Sometime this week, Robin, probably with Seth's enlisted help, had finished painting it the soft moss green color. A crib sat in one corner, and it looked sturdy and almost new. A small couch was in another corner and a shelf with a few books on it.

"Krit's going to mount a TV in here, so you can stay in here as long as you like," Robin said, smiling hopefully at Sidda and Alec.

"This is pretty awesome, Robin," Alec said, grinning back at her, "Especially the TV part." He looked down at Bean. "Here that? You get to learn about the joys of the boob tube early."

Sidda snorted and shook her head. "Thanks for destroying my family early on, Robin." Before Robin could say that that hadn't been her aim, Sidda gave her a hug. "It's great, I really love it."

Robin grinned wider and looked like she would have clapped her hands if she had been any younger. "Awesome!" She leaned back against Seth, who obligingly put his arms around her. "Because otherwise, I'd be worried that I wouldn't be worthy of decorating for your wedding, and you know how much I want to do that."

Sidda laughed as she walked into the baby room. "Wedding?" She looked over at Syl and Krit, her eyebrows raising. "Is she talking to you two?"

"No…" Syl said, looking just as confused as Sidda, "What're you talking about, Robin?"

"The wedding," Robin said, putting her hands on her hips. "Don't play with me, Sidda, I know you guys are getting married." She looked back at her husband questioningly. "Seth told me."

Seth leaned his head forward and rested his forehead against Robin's shoulder, probably to escape the stares both Sidda and Alec were giving him. He whispered something into Robin's ear, and her eyes widened.

Syl and Krit looked at each other and then Syl burst into a smile. "Woo, a baby and a wedding! You guys move fast."

"And backwards," Krit said in a half-cough, looking up at the ceiling.

Sidda turned slowly towards Alec, her face unreadable. "And when were you playing on telling me we're getting married? Because I don't remember you asking me."

"Does the idea piss you off?" Alec half-teased to release some of the tension. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Sidda about this…it hadn't really come up in the past few days, since they had been focusing on her and Bean's recovery.

"I'm just confused?" she said, her voice lifting and her eyes demanding some sort of answer.

The others quietly drew away towards the table groaning with Robin's creations, giving the couple a little privacy in their new baby room. Sidda privately thought it was sort of an odd place to be having a conversation about a phantom marriage proposal.

"I…I was scared right before you went under," Alec said. "Sometimes I still saw that doubt there in your eyes, like you were unsure I actually wanted to be there. I thought proposing to you, well, I thought it might help you be more sure." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and gave the floor a very guilty look.

Sidda laughed, still slightly half-puzzled. "But Alec, you don't need to do that, we don't have to prove anything…"

"I didn't want to prove anything!" Alec ran his hands through his hair in frustration; he was having trouble clarifying what feelings had prompted him to ask Sidda to marry him right when he did. "Maybe I was just afraid you wouldn't say yes unless you were half-drugged," he admitted. He looked at her, eyes flashing defiance. "I know it wasn't romantic or anything and I'm willing to ask again, but Sidda, I really do want this."

Sidda was at an unusual loss for words. She twisted her hands, unsure what to say. Secretly, somewhere deep inside, she knew she was thrilled that Alec wanted to marry her. But more outwardly, she was pissed that he asked her while she was drugged. And being pissed was so much easier…

"You know," she said slowly, crossing her arms, "I don't have many romantic expectations, I really don't…but being asked to marry someone while I'm drugged…" A slow smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she watched Alec try to contain his laughter.

"Hey," he said gruffly, pulling her to him for a quick kiss, "I said I would re-propose."

"Don't think you're getting out of this mess with just a quick kiss and a rash promise," she mumbled, glaring up at him.

"I didn't know the idea of marrying me was so unpleasant to you," he said.

"It's not!" Sidda protested immediately. She blushed and then fought to gain control of her coloring. "Really, I wouldn't mind, just… was it necessary?"

"Yes," Alec replied. "I can't really say why, but for me, it was."

"You're not holding me to my drugged response though, right?" Sidda said, leaning back to give him a suspicious look. "That just isn't fair. I don't want you to remember my answer as yeh-huuuuh…Ale—suuuure."

"Well, it was more like—"

"Oh, hush you," Sidda said, breaking away from him. "You better watch yourself tonight; I just got over having died and now I have to get over being unknowingly engaged." She smiled and shook her head at him. "Come on, we better go rejoin the party before they think I've killed you."

"I seriously doubt that they would worry about that," Alec said, staying far enough away that Sidda couldn't hit him easily from where she was with her leg wound. But he went back to the party. Time enough to argue over the validity of the engagement later… and hey, if he figured out the perfect time/ place quickly enough, maybe the issue wouldn't be an issue at all.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Oh my gosh, y'all are awesome! So sorry that this update is late, but I'll let you in on a secret. Part 3 of this Trilogy is already almost completely FINISHED! It'll be updated on a regular basis, every Monday and Friday, after this story is up. The last part of this story will be posted tomorrow. Sorry to keep all you loyals waiting!

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Chapter 25

Dalton sighed as he stared into the lukewarm depths of the empty fridge. The only stuff less was unspeakably old, and he was afraid that if he took it out of the cold temperature that it would instantly release a poisonous gas that would then proceed to finish off the job that the Cultural Center bombing had started: namely, kill him.

Trust his roommate, Swiss, not to feel any sympathy whatsoever for the fact that Dalton had just gone through a major traumatic experience.

He rubbed his aching ribs; a few broke ones hadn't exactly been a pleasant experience, not to mention the concussion from being flung against cement, and the tiny little cuts all over his face that were still visible as scars right now.

"Damn it, Swiss." He shut the refrigerator door violently. He did not feel like walking all the way to either Gem or Robin's place to beg for food.

"Um, should I come back another time?" Dalton whipped around at the familiar female voice, and found himself looking at Anica, who was watching him with a half-amused expression on her face. And she was carrying a saran-wrapped tray….

"Is that food?" he asked eagerly.

"Teenage boys are so predictable," Anica said, rolling her eyes. But she held out the plate. "But here, I made up a bunch of different sandwiches. I had a feeling you guys wouldn't have much to eat with you gone so long and Swiss staying over at Ida's place a lot."

"So that's why there's no food." Dalton hungrily tore into one of the sandwiches. He was definitely going to need a new roomie. Maybe Twizzler would want to share, even though they had different designations?

After he'd stuffed most of one into his stomach and less than a minute, he gave a sigh of pure bliss. "Anica, these are amazing. You're the best."

"Glad they were well-received." Anica smiled at him, but it was a slightly funny smile. She reached up towards his face, than stopped. "May I?" she asked.

"Errr…sure," Dalton said, realizing what she wanted. He couldn't begrudge the woman who brought him food.

Anica's hand glided lightly over his scars, her fingertips barely touching his skin like the lightest of kisses. Dalton felt himself shiver involuntarily, and he was suddenly caught up in looking at her dark eyes, wondering what she thought of this cut-up version of him.

"Very dashing," she said, giving him a half-smile as she lowered her arm.

"Yeah, that was the look I was going for." His laugh sounded strained, even to his own ears. Suddenly, on what he later considered with some pride a very Alec-like impulse, he caught Anica's fingers in his own and pulled her closer to him.

Very thankful that he'd managed to swallow those last two bites of sandwich before deciding to act on random impulses, Dalton leaned in and kissed her once, quickly. He felt himself go bright red as soon as that was done. Smooth Alec moment definitely over.

"Um…. Yeah, so thanks," he said, quickly looking around for the plate of sandwiches that he'd set somewhere on the counter.

Anica stood beside the counter, fiddling with her thumbs in her belt loops and an uncertain look on her face. "I didn't know that's how you were supposed to say thank you."

Dalton crammed a sandwich into his mouth and shrugged, using the excuse of having a full mouth in order to not embarrass himself further.

Anica slid around the corner of the counter, her eyes darting around to look at the room. "Nice place."

"Pig sty," he grumbled after swallowing the mouthful of sandwich, "Cleaner before…" He let his voice trail off and then he smirked. "Yeah, actually, it was never cleaner."

Anica laughed and shook her head. "Somehow, I can believe that."

They stood there for a moment, and Dalton tried not to stare at her. he couldn't believe that she was actually standing in his apartment, and that he had kissed her and she hadn't run away then and she was still standing there. Maybe there was some truth to that whole scar-face appeal.

"You know," Anica said slowly, turning towards him, "When the news came in that the Cultural Center had collapsed, I was worried about you."

Dalton nearly choked on the sandwich he had just bit into. He coughed violently and grabbed a glass of water that Anica handed him, her face betraying the fact that she was trying to hide a grin. "Y-you did?" he stammered, forgetting that he should have been smooth.

"Well, yeah," she said. She leaned back against the counter. "I mean, we thought everyone in there was dead at first. The whole building was gone, or at least most of it was."

Dalton grimaced. "I know." He had seen the ruins a couple days ago when he had tried to join the clean-up crew. Everyone had yelled at him to go home until Gem had shown up to forcefully drag him back to his apartment, but he still remembered the complete destruction he had seen.

It was amazing that anyone had survived, but they had been saved by the extremely strong support systems that ran throughout the entire building and especially the first floor, where most of the survivors had been. Luckily it hadn't been a busy day at the Cultural Center, so there wasn't an enormous amount of casualties, but the ones who had died were still remembered. Terminal City didn't forget their dead.

"I think I knew you'd survive somehow," Anica said. He realized that she was closer now, pressed right up against his side even though she still somehow wasn't touching him. "You always make it through…"

"I'm good like that," he joked, his scarred face twitching into a smirk.

"I know it seems like I don't care sometimes…"

"We're all like that," Dalton said, shrugging. Where they came from, you couldn't care, it was that simple. Not when who you cared about could drop dead from some internal disorder or be shot at random or die on the practice field.

"But not you." Anica reached up and brushed her hand over his cheek again, letting her hand linger there. "You always seem to care, even if it's something trivial. You didn't let them beat it out of you."

"I guess I was just too stupid," Dalton said, attempting to smile.

Suddenly she was kissing him again, her hands grabbing his arms gently and pulling them so he was hugging her. She was careful, probably because of his injuries, but hell, she was still kissing him! Anica was kissing him, what was this wonderful world he had suddenly entered? His found his hands moving on their on, threading into her hair and resting on the small of her back.

When they broke apart, Anica smiled up at him. "If you were stupid, then I'm glad for it. It's my favorite part about you."

"What?" he said, slightly teasing, "My stupidity?"

"Well, that too," she said, attempting to joke even as she kissed him again.

As he kissed her, Dalton had an amusing thought. If took a building falling on him to get her to kiss him, what painful event would it take to get her to have sex with him? The kiss deepened.

_Ah, machine gun toting warrior Familiars, here I come!_

_

* * *

_

Max sat back in her chair, her hands pressed to her temples. This was the first time since the Cultural Center had been bombed that she had been in her office alone. It seemed like for the past couple of weeks that someone was always there to tell her that the press wanted some more 'official statements' or Kenton was here to bother her or that someone else had died from injuries sustained from the bombing. And Logan wouldn't leave her side. He seemed to think that he always needed to be with her, that she might collapse into despair if he wasn't at her side. Truthfully, that might have really been the case at first, but now she just wanted to be by herself.

What was she supposed to do now?

Terminal City was recovering from the bomb with the help of the government and some Ordinaries who just didn't think what had happened to the mutants was right. It was slightly reassuring to see that some of the humans were on their side, but it also reminded Max that it was humans who had done this in the first place. People were injured and dead because of humans…and she could have prevented it.

Why hadn't she just sent Everett and some others in to kill the leaders when she had the chance? It would've been so simple and it had been a possibility from the start; go in, cut the organization off at the head, let it die quickly. It was the best option, and one she should've taken, but she hadn't wanted any Ordinaries to be killed, even though they were threatening her city and her people. She had wanted to show them that they didn't have to fight, that the transgenics weren't there to hurt them; all the transgenics wanted was somewhere to live peacefully.

She had been stupid not to realize that something big was going to go wrong, but she had never thought they would be able to bomb something, especially not something inside of Terminal City. It seemed that they had been able to bribe one of the gate guards into letting a couple of them in during the dead of night and then driving to the Cultural Center. One of her first agreements with the suits after the bombing had been that Terminal City was going to guard itself; no more outside government guards.

One of the bonuses of that was that since the government could no longer hold up that part of the bargain, they'd agreed to let the transgenics pick and choose which missions they did for the government. That would give them a little more freedom, and make most of the transgenics happier. They'd still want the jobs, but they wouldn't have to do them if no one wanted to.

Max sighed as she stared at the plans for the new proposed Cultural Center. It was in a new site, and a lot more levels were underground. She hated that, and she hated the fact that they had to guard themselves and prepare for being bombed and just act like they were in a war in general.

She pushed the plans aside and looked at the paper clipping the public affairs office had brought her. She still couldn't believe they had a public affairs office, but they really did. After last week some of the X6s and a couple X5s had asked to make one. They weren't sure what they could do yet, but they were doing research on it and keeping up on public opinion of the transgenics. It was kind of nice to have them around, actually. And it kept a few more transgenics happy and busy.

Maybe they really should consider establishing different office branches, becoming more organized, so that things could get done without Max having to direct them all the time. It was sorted of headed in that direction already, but at the moment it was much more informal, with her asking whoever she thought could do the job to do it, or some person who thought they could do it volunteering for it. It'd be helpful if people just knew what jobs they should do.

Max made a note of that on her computer, then looked back at the newspaper clippings, even as she heard footsteps approaching the door. Rather loud, it had to be Logan again.

"You work too much."

Max continued reading the article with half her attention; it was currently siding with the transgenics a bit after the whole bombing thing. Unlike the previous one that had decided that the bombing was a transgenic plan to get sympathy.

"Don't have much of a choice," she said.

He moved in and gently pulled the article from her hands. She looked up at them. "Max, really, you don't have to do all this, all the time."

"Well, look what happened when I got lazy," Max said, gesturing at the clippings. They all showed the rubble of the Cultural Center.

She looked away so Logan wouldn't see her tears. "If I had paid more attention, maybe people like Mona wouldn't have died."

Logan sat down on the desk and moved a strand of her hair behind her ears. "It would've happened somehow, or something equally disastrous would've occurred. And some good has come of it. In a sense, the transgenics are freer."

He paused and looked at the articles, considering. "You can't go back and change what's happened yet."

Max rolled her eyes at him and he smirked slightly, "Manticore didn't get as far as inventing a time machine. But… you can prepare for future events, and you can learn from what happened. Maybe having to do that sucks, but it's better than pretending that there's not a threat out there. Look what pretending got America; we never saw the Pulse coming."

Max sighed. "As usual, you're right." She turned back to face him and gave him a slightly wavering smile. "They should have used some of your genes when they made us."

Logan laughed and raised his eyebrows at Max. "Yeah, and how awkward would that have been?"

"Very true," Max admitted.

"And anyways, think how much more of a headache TC would be if everyone here was an idealist like me?"

Max snorted. "I really don't want to imagine."

Logan shrugged. "So we'll get through it. People will get hurt, but that's life. Andin the mean time…" Logan tapped the government correspondence that was lying next to the newspaper clippings, "let's milk the government while they're feeling guilty."

Max leaned back in her chair and looked at Logan. "Speaking of government…"

"Our deep cover team?" he asked, immediately jumping to the right conclusion.

Max nodded. "They've found a few, but they're waiting it out yet because they're pretty sure they haven't discovered who's in charge yet.

"And without the key player, it won't matter." Logan nodded and looked away, obviously going into one of his though-trances.

"Logan…" Max hesitated, drawing invisible circles on the desk.

It took a moment for Logan to come out of whatever plans he was making. "Hmmm?" he asked, looking at her with a slightly still unfocused expression. Oh, Logan. He loved planning more than anything.

"When it comes time…" She stopped and bit her lip. She hated admitting to any weakness, but this recent incident with the Cultural Center had forced her to face at least what was probably her biggest weakness.

"I can't continue to be the leader, Logan. You have to help me find someone else… help me set up a government system, anything. Because when it comes time to kill someone, when it has to be done, I can't do it. Not unless I have a deeply personal reason. I spent so much time avoiding that part of my past that I can't go back. And that's going to cripple us. I won't be able to give the order for the Familiars to be taken out, or the Telic leaders to be gotten rid of, because I just can't ask someone to do what I can't. And we need someone who's willing to make those decisions in charge. Or at least in charge of missions."

By the time she was done, Logan's attention was totally focused on her. He smiled a slow smile. "Somehow Max, you're always in the thick of things that you don't want to be in."

Max waited without saying anything, knowing that Logan wasn't done yet. He took one of her hands with one of his, and squeezed it.

"You don't need to be a killer Max. I love the fact that you are totally uncompromising when it comes to your morals, and for you the world is very much black and white. If you ever became a true killer, you would lose who you are, and then the others wouldn't follow you anyway." He pulled her out of her chair so that she was standing up, and then pulled her against his chest as he also stood up.

"We'll fix up a government system up, I promise. Starting first thing tomorrow." He chuckled. "After all, how could I pass up the chance to get more of you to myself?"

Max smiled and leaned her forehead against Logan's chest. Though she knew Logan had a deep, philosophical side to him, that side came out rarely in their conversations. It was nice to see that he hadn't lost it, and sort of sweet to see what he thought of her. She only hoped that he didn't think too highly of her. She still had Manticore in her, no matter what.

But Max had also been totally wrong. She did need him, even now, when she thought she couldn't bear anyone being with her. Logan brought sense to this crazy world that Max had found herself a part of, and despite the fact that he was a such an idealist, somehow he managed to keep her grounded.

"Love you," she murmured, kissing him softly.

Logan looked taken aback; they didn't say to each other very often at all, and almost never outside of their apartment. He smiled down at her and slipped his hand behind her head to bring her back for another kiss.

"I love you too. And we'll get through this. Promise."

* * *

Alec woke up to two things. His son was crying in the next room over, and his mate was already out of bed, shuffling towards the door. He could swear that somehow that woman knew when Aiden was going to start crying before the baby even knew. And Bean was a good crier. Too good, in fact.

"Hey, it's my turn," Alec said, pushing himself up from their rather comfortable bed.

Sidda turned around, her hand on the doorway, and smirked. "It was your turn last time...and the time before that. I think I can handle my own kid, Alec."

He slid out of bed and walked past her, running his fingertips carefully across the t-shirt material over her midsection where she had just gotten the stitches out today. "What was it Sibil said? Oh, yeah, 'take it easy, Sidda.'" Gently, he pushed her up against the doorway. "I know getting up and walking around the apartment with our baby about six times at night is your idea of taking it easy, but let me help, just a little."

Sidda smirked up at him. "How do you know this isn't all just a ploy to make you go get the baby so I can go back to sleep?"

"The thought came to mind," he said, "But then I remembered that you're just insane…"

"How loving," Sidda replied. She poked him in the chest and rolled her eyes before walking away down the hall toward Aiden's room. "Glad you respect me."

Alec followed after her, basically giving up on persuading her to go back to bed. When Sidda wanted to be ornery and contradictory, there was no stopping her and it was best to just let her get it out of her system. When he reached the baby room, Sidda was bending over the crib, scooping Aiden up and cradling him in her arms.

Leaning against the doorway, Alec couldn't help but smile at the simple but sweet tableau the two of them made. His petite mate was wearing one of his well-worn t-shirts, her dark blond hair ruffled and messy but catching the moonlight as she wandered toward the window. Her limp from the wound that had been left by the wooden stake was barely noticeable. In fact, it was most likely that he was the only one who could even tell she had it anymore. Bean stopped wailing immediately after she picked him up and only whimpered for a few moments.

"Guess you're just an attention-hog, not a hungry pig," Sidda told the newborn. She sunk down onto the soft, plushy couch and looked over at Alec. "He's asleep again."

Alec smirked and walked across the room. "He's manipulative. He wants you all for himself." He sat down on the couch and pulled her legs over onto his lap. "Too bad for him, I get you too."

"Hush, you," Sidda said even as she smiled at him, "He's just a baby."

"You're going to be saying that when he's twenty-something and doesn't even live here anymore," Alec said. He brushed his finger along the inside of her foot; she wasn't ticklish there, but he liked testing it every now and then.

"I hope we make it that long," Sidda said after a long stretch of silence.

Alec jerked his head up to look at her. She didn't seem depressed, just thoughtful. He squeezed her foot and threw a grin at her. "Hey, we're going to die old and grey and crabby, got it?"

Sidda glanced at him, her expression wry. "Oh, yeah, 'cause that's how you always wanted to go out."

"I damn well hope we're not fighting anyone when we're decrepit," Alec said. He yanked on her ankles and pulled her toward him, lifting her the rest of the way onto his lap. "And if I am, you won't be."

"Ooo, you gonna take my walker away?" Sidda teased. She was content just to know he wanted to keep her even when she was old and grey, if they lived that long. She kissed him on the jaw, her lips lingering there until she pressed them to his throat and then his collarbone. "I might have to hit you with your own cane if you do that."

Alec tightened his grip around her as she laid her head into the hollow of his neck. 'Oh, yeah, our apartment will be the geriatric battle ground."

"To arms, Grandpa," Sidda mumbled sleepily.

"I'll watch my hunched-over back," Alec said. He snorted and kissed Sidda's cheek while reaching over to rub his thumb along Bean's tiny hand. Right now, he was just happy that his little family, both of them, was alive and strong and safe.


	26. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel so don't sue me. Thanks. :-)

A/N: Thank you to wizziewoo123, ItalianBreakstick, BlueEyedPisces and rs3071 for reviewing the last chapter! Y'all are awesome!

**Ex Multus Familia: Part 2**

Epilogue

He was going to take them out.

He was going to kill them, and he wouldn't regret it one bit.

Everett calmly loaded the ammunition in to his weapons, counting, measuring, evaluating. There had to be enough to be sure that he'd be able to kill the top leadership of Telic, even if a few of his weapons were taken away. He planned on being so rigged-out with every variety of weapon there was that they wouldn't even recognize half of what he was carrying as weaponry.

The phone rang again, but Everett ignored it. There wasn't any point in answering. If everything went according to plan, well, he probably wouldn't be around in 46 hours anyway.

"Damn it." Everett's hand slipped momentarily as Lisa started crying. Everett winced and closed his eyes, wishing that in a moment he would hear Mona's footsteps, her voice as she spoke quietly and soothingly to the baby, calming her down. Of course, if Mona was there, Everett would have been in the baby's room as well, playfully fighting with Mona for a turn at looking after their little daughter.

But now he could hardly stand to look at her.

"Please stop," he whispered, whishing somehow that the baby would understand him. But he was already standing up at the same time, moving automatically toward the baby room.

Gem had been coming by every day, probably worried that he'd neglect the baby, but Everett had been determined not to. He'd known that Mona would've hated that, and so he did what he had to.

"Soon it'll be better," Everett promised Lisa, picking her up and bouncing her carefully for a bit. Her crying subdued to a sort of hiccup whimper as Everett headed back into the kitchen.

That was the good thing about Gem visiting so often and worrying so much about the baby. Everett would take Lisa to her, ask Gem to look after the baby for a bit. Then he would leave, knowing he'd left his daughter in good hands. Gem would make sure that Lisa was raised with love.

As Everett heated up one of the bottles that Gem had prepped and left in the fridge, he frowned at the plate of sandwiches that was sitting on the counter. He'd had a few when Gem had brought them over a few hours ago, but he really couldn't remember when he'd eaten before that. And he'd really only eaten those two because Gem had obviously been waiting for him too. She wouldn't leave until he did. Something must be out of whack with his metabolism for him to feel so….well, not hungry.

"Better?" Everett murmured, watching Lisa suck eagerly on the bottle. She'd been unhappy at first when Mona hadn't been there to feed her anymore, but Gem had figured out some trick that had gotten Lisa to accept the bottle. He didn't know what it was; he was simply grateful that it worked. Again, it made things easier.

He put the sleepy Lisa back into her crib and then returned to the living room. He was going to go have to make an ammo run; he couldn't ask his friends for any. If he did, they would go running with tales to Max about Everett going around asking for ammo.

Max might come to the wrong conclusion about Everett's need for ammo, but it would essentially be the right conclusion. And he didn't want anyone to know and decide to interfere.

They wouldn't understand. This was something he simply had to do. He had brought Telic to his home and had allowed them to kill his mate. He had to restore balance to the world and do what he should have done earlier. He would finish them off so that they couldn't take anyone else's mate, and he would ensure his daughter's future.

And then, if he was lucky, he would get to join his mate wherever she was now.

There was a knock on the door. Shit. All his weapons were lying out in plain sight, and whoever came in was going to seriously question his sanity. Which they were probably already doing that, but he didn't want to tip the balance and make them worry enough to put make someone stay with him all the time. He was tempted to not answer the door, but no one would believe that he had gone out. He hadn't left the apartment since he had gotten back home they day they had buried Mona at the farmhouse.

Shoving as much of the gear as he could under the couch, Everett walked over and opened the door.

Gem was standing there, as he had half expected she would be. She didn't have Crystal with her, so the baby must have been with Dalton or something. Unlike usual, there was nothing in her arms, no plates of food for him. Instead, they were crossed in front of her. She glanced up at him with a stern expression on her face.

"You didn't answer your phone," she accused. She looked past him into the apartment. "Where's Lisa?"

"Asleep," he grunted. Turning around, he walked back into the living room, leaving Gem to either follow or stay where she was. He didn't care which it was; if Gem said something about the weapons, he'd deal with it.

Gem walked past him and into his kitchen, aggravation quite plain on her face. She went over to his full sink and lifted a couple plates, and utensils. "Pretending you don't have dirty dishes doesn't make them go away, Everett."

"No shit," Everett said without even a hint of sarcasm. He wandered back into the living room and picked up one of the guns to check its barrel. He had already cleaned it twice, but a clean weapon was an effective weapon.

The sound of water rushing into the sink made him scowl, but he didn't say anything. Let Gem clean his dishes. She was probably going to be taking care of his kid soon anyways, since she was the one who seemed most concerned about Lisa. Everett supposed that was good; if she couldn't have…Gem would be good to her.

Gem was silent, and Everett didn't feel the need to say anything to her. He ran a cloth over the length of the barrel, making the metal shine. No Manticore weapon had been better taken care of. The dishes made noise as they hit against each other in the wash, but that was the only sound in the apartment.

After a while, Gem came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a cloth. Everett jerked his eyes away from her since for a moment, he had imagined Mona doing the same thing, her long dark red hair held back in a ponytail, that easy smile on her face.

"I'm not putting them away," Gem said. She didn't even raise an eyebrow as she looked at all the weaponry. "That's your job."

"Okay," Everett said.

She didn't leave like he thought she would or even go check on Lisa. Instead, she sat down on the chair across from him after moving a semi-automatic out of it. Silence filled the room again, and he could feel her waiting for him to say something, like it was his fault she was in his apartment, and it was his job to initiate the conversation he didn't want to have in the first place. So he didn't. He methodically started cleaning the inside of the barrel, ignoring Gem, thinking she would leave after being ignored for a long enough.

She didn't.

Everett continued cleaning at the same pace, moving along each of the guns, polishing, counting ammunition, all the time very aware that Gem was sitting in the arm chair, waiting for something. She didn't always look at him either; the wall took up her attention or the window or the weapons. An hour later, after everything that could possibly be cleaned or counted was, Lisa started crying. Thankful for the excuse to leave the room and Gem's constant presence, Everett got up and walked to the baby's room. The fussy little girl looked up at him and wailed pitifully, forcing him to scoop her up out of the crib and hold her close. She didn't need a diaper change, and she couldn't possibly be hungry; she quieted down after he picked her up, only whimpering occasionally. He tried to put her back in the crib, but she let out such a wail that Gem called out and asked if he needed her help.

"No, I've got it," he replied, lifting the baby from the crib again. He held the infant against his chest. "What's wrong with you, huh?" he mumbled to her as he gently patted her back.

"I think that's a question you might want to ask yourself, possibly," Gem said from the doorway. She was leaning against the doorjamb, looking at Everett with a serious yet not pitying gaze.

Everett turned toward the window, not completely willing to answer that comment right now. Gem stepped farther into the room. She ran her hand over the railing of the crib and looked at him.

"Look, I know you're still hurting—"

"Don't start," Everett cut her off, "I don't want to hear how Mona wouldn't want me to act like this, how this isn't how she would want me to live my life this way." He glanced down at Lisa, his fingers threading through her thick dark fuzzy hair.

"I wasn't going to say that, Everett," Gem said, "I was just going to say for you to wait."

Everett looked over his shoulder at her. "For what?"

"Just wait for a few months, until everything's settled back down, until you're thinking rationally and not running off of emotions," she said. She wasn't just some woman right then; no, she was playing the part of a Manticore soldier again, eyes hard and unforgiving. "Give it some time, make a real plan, and then go kill the enemy. You're still avenging Mona's death and your own misery, but you're being smart about it instead of running off on a suicide mission that's going to leave your friends thinking you were reckless and your child an orphan."

Everett stood there for a moment, looking out of the window. "I can't promise, Gem."

"I know," she replied, "But think about it."

When Everett turned around again, she was gone, the front door clicking shut behind her. He wasn't going to promise to not follow through with his plan, but… He cupped his hand around Lisa head and brought her closer. Maybe more preparation would be for the best.

* * *

**THE END**

* * *

Keep on the lookout for **_Ex Multus Familia: Part 3_**, which should be out tomorrow! The story continues! Feel free to PM me!


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